


Lucid

by alittlepinkvial



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-03
Updated: 2013-04-28
Packaged: 2017-12-07 09:03:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 31,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/746728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alittlepinkvial/pseuds/alittlepinkvial
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina concocts a potion that can transport two souls into the same dream. Eventual SwanQueen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Brighter Shade

It was pink. A subtle cloudy color. Regina’s fingers hummed over the smooth glass vial, then after sufficiently eyeing her creation, tucked it into her coat pocket. Regina Mills’ coat was black, like the clouds roaring overhead. The storm was coming in quickly so she hurried her already aggressive pace to Gold’s shop. She had very specific business.

 

The bell rang as she opened the door. Confident clicks of her heels led her to the glass display of a sword. Silver, still glimmering. A quick smirk fell on her lips. The mayor waited with pained patience as she listened to Mr. Gold moving around in the back. Then, he appeared, cane in hand.

 

“To what do I owe this pleasure, Madam Mayor?” He asked, as he always does.

 

“I did what you asked for.” Regina replied in a bored tone as she slid a well-manicured hand over the cool glass display.

 

“How did you manage such a feat without magic, my dear?” Mr. Gold had sworn that she wouldn’t be able to do it. He had just merely hoped. Regina rolled her eyes at his patronizing tone.

 

“You’d be surprised at how much magic exists in what seems to be a completely,” She stopped and smirked, this time with her eyes. “Normal place.”

 

“Well,” Gold eyed her cautiously. “I’ll need my proof.”

 

“Of course.” Regina slipped her hand into her coat pocket and retrieved it. The sun coming through the windows reflected off the perfectly flawless glass tube. Regina smiled again, twisting the precious tool in her hands. Mr. Gold reached out for it but Regina pulled her hand back. “Ah, ah.” She murmured, pushing it back to the bottom of her pocket. “I want to know what you need it for.”

 

“That is my business, deary.” Mr. Gold’s answer was reserved, and incredibly intriguing the woman in front of him. Though, she wouldn’t allow him to see that.

 

“You can’t possibly expect that I would give you so much power without knowing what you would do with it.” Regina spun the vial again in her pocket, unable to let go of it.

 

“Who said anything about giving?” Mr. Gold retorted. “I’m paying my fair price.”

 

Regina held his gaze for a few seconds, toying with her options. “No.” She replied finally. “What I wanted isn’t worth this.”

 

“You could make more if you so desired.” His features grew pestered. Regina didn’t like the sound of that. She began to move away from the display.

 

“This wasn’t easy to come by, Mr. Gold. As I am sure you are aware.”

 

“You would trade what you wanted from me, for _this_?” Mr. Gold asked her, an eyebrow cocked. “The only way you can have happiness is if you steal it.”

 

“I don’t think you understand, Mr. Gold. This concoction has the ability to transport two souls, almost mold them together as one in a world different than anything you could see otherwise. Don’t you understand? This _is_ happiness.”

 

“Who would you even choose to bring together?” Mr. Gold asked, pulling at the Mayor’s patience.

 

Regina lifted an eyebrow, staring strongly into Mr. Gold’s eyes. “I’m sure I will come up with something.” She replied mischievously.

 

“I trust I don’t have to warn you about what you are doing.” Mr. Gold said as he watched the gears of Regina’s mind turning.

 

“Oh, of course. It is just as I might say to you. Magic,” Regina drawled as she stepped backwards gracefully towards the door. “Comes with a price,” She put her hand to the doorknob. “ _Deary_.” She then opened the door and sauntered out of Mr. Gold’s shop.

 

Feeling the harshness of the storm’s wind on her face she pushed onwards. Thoughts overtook her. What would she use this for? Her previous motives seemed dim, not fleshed out entirely. Gold had offered her a way to get rid of Emma Swan in exchange for the potion. Maybe she found a way to do away with the meddling blonde all on her own. But how?

 

The mayor’s eyebrows were furrowed in contemplation when she collided with a particularly frazzled Mary-Margaret on the street corner.

 

An _umpf_ sound came out of the shorter brunette when they bumped into each other. She looked up at a distracted Regina Mills. “Madam Mayor! I’m so sorry!”

 

Regina stepped back, eyeing the younger woman. “It’s fine.” She replied, closing her lips in a forced smile. The wind was blowing their hair around. Mary-Margaret nodded quickly and kept on her way. Regina pivoted in her heels as she watched Mary-Margaret trudge farther away in the direction of her apartment. She relished that in this world, Snow White basically kneeled at her feet.

 

Once out of her sight, Regina continued walking down her streets until she reached her mayoral mansion. In the grey of the afternoon storm cloud, it looked even lonelier than usual. She stepped up the stairs and closed the door behind her, eager to think over her options in peace. She had only a half hour until she had to pick up Henry from his therapy session, and she was not about to allow him to walk home in this weather. Not two minutes after she arrived, the doorbell rang.

 

Regina was sitting in her kitchen, spinning the vial on the marble countertop, enjoying the sound the glass made as it rolled against the cool stone. Her eyes shifted to the door when she heard the knock. Slowly, she stood up from her stool and left the vial to sit on the table. She adjusted her blue silk blouse and black trousers. As she arrived at the door she shook out her short brunette waves in the mirror. Her face immediately became annoyed when she saw who was standing on her porch.

 

“Miss. Swan.” She drawled, taking in the woman’s presence. _Every damn day_. She growled to herself. “Henry’s not here.”

 

“I’m here on business.” The blonde said, hands on hips, one holding a manila envelope. Regina had to admit, the newly appointed sheriff did fit the part of the concerned town-person well. Her hat was pulled over her ears. Disheveled blond locks danced on her shoulders from the wind.

 

Regina’s eyes traveled down her body, noticing how particularly well the woman bundled up for this trip over. She clutched her door as she pulled it further open, stepping out of the way.

 

Emma entered the newly available space, immediately softening to the warmth she could feel from the fireplace in the living room. Emma couldn’t help but feel that she was stepping into a type of palace every time she was in Regina’s house.

 

“Well,” Regina said expectantly as she closed the door. “What is it that you need me for, Sheriff Swan?”

 

“The electric lines on Johnson Street.” Emma replied as she began removing her coat. “They were taken down by the wind. It’s only supposed to get worse into the night.”

 

“So,” Regina’s heels clicked into the kitchen, not waiting for Emma to hang up her coat on the rack next to the front door. She heard Emma follow her into the kitchen just moments later. “You need me to,” Eyeing the vial, Regina discreetly slipped it into a drawer in the island. “Approve construction?”

 

“It’s going to close down the road for a few days this week. I just need you to sign off on it.” Emma said, placing the file on the table. “All the paper work is in there.”

 

Regina nodded, pulling the file towards herself. “Well, thank you, Sheriff. I’ll take a look at it when I can.”

 

There was a short pause. Regina watched as Emma shifted almost awkwardly in her boots. Regina enjoyed this sometimes, watching Emma feel uncomfortable. She was sure the blond was going to leave in that moment.

 

“So,” Emma finally said. “Where’s Henry?”

 

Regina turned her back to the sheriff to open a cupboard, not suppressing an eye roll as she did it. This was going to be a longer visit that she expected.

 

“With Mr. Hopper.” Regina replied, placing two wine glasses on the table. Emma’s eyebrow lifted just slightly at this sight of hospitality before Regina turned around to meet her gaze. “Cider?” She heard the older woman ask.

 

“Sure.” Emma nodded.

 

“You can go sit in the living room while I quickly make it.” Regina offered. Again, Emma was surprised by her kindness.

 

“Okay,” She smiled and made her way to Regina’s dove white living room. Once out of view, Regina took the vial out of the drawer where it had been hidden. Her dark brown eyes scanned the contents like many times before but this time Regina noticed something different about the liquid. It was no longer a cloudy almost cotton hued pink; it had become a stronger, more vibrant shade of rose. It looked as though it was becoming brighter as well.

 

Perplexed but also incredibly intrigued, Regina unscrewed the cap. An almost sickeningly sweet scent came from the small tube. A single eyebrow raised as Regina tried to piece together why this was happening now. Then, the moment of lucidity hit her.

 

With a delicate hand, Regina picked up one of the wine glasses by its stem. She twisted it between her fingers, eyes dancing between the vial and the glass.

 

_Magic doesn’t lie, but it does deceive._

 

Slowly, she tipped the head of the vial into the wine glass. The pink liquid splashed against the clear barrier in loud though silent individual drops.

 

When Regina tipped it back up she stared at what was left; half of the potion still swimming in its delicate cocoon. 


	2. Sweet Dreams

Haunting. That was the only word that replayed in Regina's mind as she poured the last of the potion into her own glass. There was a reason that the liquid turned vibrant in Emma Swan's company.

The vial had chosen.

A smirk touched Regina's lips as she tipped the rim of her glass up to her mouth. When the potion hit her tongue, she felt a serge, a rush of something. It felt almost like her chest floated out of her body for just a split second. She closed her eyes for a second, trying to process the decision she had just made. She had chosen to invade Emma Swan's dreams. And for how long? Even the mayor didn't know how long something like this lasted. But it was the only way- the only definite solution to her problem. If she couldn't control Emma's actions during the day, perhaps she could haunt her mind at night. She would be out of Storybrooke within a few weeks.

After placing the glass on back on the marble counter, she quickly turned to her fridge to take out the fixings for her famous cider.

Her mind was racing as she poured the last of the ingredients in Emma's glass as well as her own. Fingers trembling slightly, she lifted Emma's glass to her lips. She taste tested Emma's, smiling when only the flavor of her cider was noticeable.

After setting it down, Regina quickly found a napkin to wipe off her lipstick stains from the rim of the cup. Perfectly transparent crystal shined back at her.

Regina pushed her shoulders back as she took both glasses in either hand.

Emma had been sitting patiently in Regina's living room, worrying about getting mud from her boots on the pure snow-like carpet. She pulled at the sleeves of her blue shirt nervously as she listened to Regina working in the kitchen. Placing a blond strand behind her ear, Emma looked behind her back when she heard Regina's heels on the kitchen tile. Regina appeared in the walkway. She looked confidently in tune with herself, as usual. Emma tried to quell any nervousness she was feeling just a moment ago.

Regina approached the woman on the couch. She held out the glass to Emma, waiting for the younger woman to outstretch her hand and take the trap. Emma's eyes shifted to gaze into Regina's thankfully before accepting the gift.

Regina smirked but quickly made it soften into a less mischievous smile.

"Thanks," Emma replied as she held the cup with two hands. She watched as Regina sat down on the armchair opposite her. The brunette looked oddly calm to be in her presence. Usually the mayor hated every moment they had to spend together, now she seemed almost tranquil, satisfied. Emma glanced down at the glass in her hands and lifted the tip to her bottom lip.

As if slow motion, Regina watched the now light brown liquid slip between Emma's parted lips. Then, she saw it. Emma's eyelids closed suddenly and her body shivered so slightly that Emma probably wouldn't even have noticed herself if Regina hadn't said something.

"Are you cold, Miss. Swan?" Regina asked innocently, a flicker of amusement in her features, turning the corner of her mouth up. Emma noticed this in the mayor and sat up a little in her seat.

Emma looked at her and cocked one eyebrow. "Maybe. I've been running around town a lot in the past hour so…" Her voice trailed off. Regina watched her carefully as Emma had another sip, and another.

"This is good," Emma praised lightly, trying to fill the silence.

"Well, I'm glad you like it." Regina replied, crossing one toned leg over another. She continued locking her gaze onto the blond sitting only a few feet away from her. Only a few sips later and Emma's glass was nearly empty. Regina had also made a dent in her own, wanting to appear casual. As she lifted the glass to her lips, she watched Emma over the rim.

Emma felt Regina's heavy stare but she didn't want to comment on it. She figured that the woman was just sizing her up as she always did. She had learned in her short time in Storybrooke to choose her battles with Madame Mayor.

Regina watched as Emma squirmed slightly under her gaze. Emma practically gulped the last little bit and stood up suddenly, making the mayor stand up as well.

"I should go back to the station," Emma muttered, quickly padding out of the living room and into the kitchen. Regina followed her with calmed interest. She leaned against the doorframe as she watched Emma put the wine glass into her sink.

Regina glanced at her wristwatch and determined that it was about time to pick up Henry. "Well," Regina looked back up at Emma. "Do let me know if there is anything else I need to approve." She said, insinuating that it was time for Emma to leave.

Emma nodded in understanding and relief. "Thank you for the drink." Regina chuckled lightly and started walking towards her front door. Emma followed closely behind.

Once at the door, Regina opened it with a cool demeanor. Emma reclaimed her coat from the hanger and slipped the red leather over her arms.

The two women met each other's gaze for another moment. Regina's vision flickered over Emma's features in a quick, almost unnoticeable manner. Emma dry swallowed but held her gaze, then bowed her head as the noble adversary she was. Then, Regina watched as Emma's form stepped down the stairs of her porch and down the path leading to the sidewalk. The wind howled and Emma pulled her coat closer to her body, shivering once more. Regina closed the door to her home, feeling immediately enveloped in a blanket of dread.

It was a raw desire to win this that lead her to pour those glasses. She needed a sure victory, a way to no longer share her life with Emma. Almost like an instinct, she saw the color of the liquid changed and acted on it. This specific potion never chose someone lightheadedly, and it never chose wrong. Going against its wishes was equal to going against your own. This was because this specific combination of magic and mischief reflected its maker.

....

"Mom," Henry said breathlessly as he opened the car door and slipped into Regina's Mercedes Benz. His hair was rattled from the wind and he was pulling his coat close to his body, much like Emma had just a little while earlier. This didn't go unnoticed by Regina, who pursed her lips slightly at the similarity. "It's so freezing out. Can I have hot chocolate when we get home?"

Regina took his backpack from him placed it in the backseat. "Of course." She answered. "Buckle up."

Henry pulled the buckle over his middle and clasped it into place.

"So, how was it?" Regina inquired as she pulled away from the curb.

"Great!" Henry exclaimed. "Mr. Hopper wanted to read more of my book." Regina quickly glanced at him with questioning expression.

"The one Ms. Blanchard gave you?" She asked, knowing the answer already.

"Yea," Henry replied. He looked out the window at the trees thrashing violently in the wind.

Regina clutched the wheel a little firmer. "And," She began, calming interested. "What did he say?"

"That he liked them." Henry answered, his voice a little less excited. "He said that people want to find happy endings." He looked at Regina then. "He doesn't understand what they all really mean, yet." He was adamant about the 'yet' part.

"Or maybe he's right." Regina offered. "They could just be stories."

"No," Henry shook his head. "You know they're not."

Regina tightened her hold on the wheel. "Why did you cast me as the Evil Queen?" She asked honestly, wanting to know.

"It wasn't my choice."

A silence fell between them that lasted until they were pulling into the mansion's garage.

"So," Regina said as she took the keys out of the ignition. "You want cinnamon on your hot chocolate?"

Henry's eyes lit up and a smile took over his face. "Definitely!" Regina smiled back, the joy in that pure moment reaching her eyes. She then grabbed his bag from the backseat and handed it to him.

"Go bring this upstairs and I'll have it ready in a few."

....

A few hours later, Mary-Margaret heard the door to her apartment rattle with the sound of a key unlocking it.

"How did it go?" Mary-Margaret asked Emma when she entered the apartment. She was cutting up carrots in the kitchen for dinner. She a cotton sky blue sweater and an innocent face.

"Actually," Emma met her at the island in the middle of the kitchen. Emma's features displayed a little bit of disbelief. "Pretty well."

Mary-Margaret nodded happily as she reached for the bowl of lettuce and began breaking the leaves crisply in her hands.

"Well, dinner is almost done." Mary-Margaret said, nodding her head towards the oven.

"It smells amazing." Emma said. "But I'm actually really exhausted."

"Okay, yea, you should be! You've been running around all day." Mary-Margaret said with an understanding smile.

"I'm going to head to bed, but I'll have it for breakfast, okay?" Emma assured her.

"Sweet dreams!" The shorter brunette called as Emma disappeared behind the separating wall of her room.

"Thanks!"

....

10:45 pm. Surely the Swan princess was asleep by now? Regina paced back and forth in her expansive bedroom. She had sent Henry to bed at about nine and since then has been anxiously stewing over her next move.

Slices of moonlight laid over the floor of her room. Her bed, wide and regal, was placed snuggly against the wall next to her door. Regina was already in her nightgown. She felt the silky material under her hands as she placed them around her waist in contemplation.

 _The only way to do this correctly_ , Regina thought as she stared at her bed. She felt as if she was looking into a vortex, a portal into a new world. _Is to be a dream_.

Regina approached her bed, slowly crawling to the head of it. She pulled the covers over herself, letting her body fall deeper into the bed. She breathed slowly, calming the firing nerves in her body. She commanded each individual muscle to relax until she felt as though her body wasn't even hers anymore- like they were no longer connected.

It wasn't until she was fully asleep that her soul took over.

....

Emma Swan's eyes opened and her blue irises adjusted to the sight. She immediately recognized where she was. The sparkling pond buried within the town forest area filled her vision. She smiled satisfactorily. A light purple dress fell against her form as the sun beamed overhead.

She was standing by the end of the pond, feeling the cool breeze coming off the water against her bare feet. She lifted the bottom of her dress carefully as she made hesitant steps into the water.

Emma hummed appreciatively as the chilled sensation touched her feet. She glanced up from the water to see a figure across the way.

On the other side of the pond stood a woman in a dress very similar to hers, but it was light grey. Like a feather, Emma thought.

A closer look at the woman revealed a smirk on red lips and a fire in both eyes. Emma stepped back from the water in surprise. The woman was slowly walking closer, her steps rimming the circular pond's shore.

Emma watched every individual step of her bare feet against the grass until she was standing right in front of her, close enough to touch. Like Emma had many times before, she locked her blue eyes on deep brown ones.

"Regina?"


	3. Ice in Her Glass

"Yes, Miss Swan." Regina's chest rose and fell softly with every tranquil breath. "Who else would I be?"

Emma took a few hesitant steps back to distance herself from the figment of her imagination. She was so real, so vibrant.

 _Why is she here?_  Emma turned around completely and began hurriedly walking towards the wooded shelter of trees. She needed to find a place to hide or at least forget that Regina had appeared. When she reached the opening of the forest she stopped abruptly, as if the soles of her feet were cemented into the soft dirt.

"That was quite rude." Regina appeared behind her in a matter of seconds. Emma tried to turn to face her but she couldn't pick up her feet. With an expression that could only be described as confused terror, she watched as Regina lifted a hand in the air and a thick ray of purple light shot out from the pond. It reached above their heads, crashing into the once idyllic blue sky with a fierce crackling sound. The clouds roared in anger, firing lightning bolts down that met the ground harshly around them. The wind began whipping Emma's hair around her face, making it hard for her to see or breath. She fell to the ground when one particularly harsh blow slashed against her side.

Regina tilted her head back to appreciate the work she had just done. She opened her arms wide as she felt the furious wind blow around her. Her grey dress quickly morphed into a long black gown that hugged her form. The pure dominance of the storm filled her with a wavering confidence. In this world, she had power once more. But more importantly, she could control it.

"See, Miss. Swan?" Regina drawled, looking back down at the younger woman and her fearful expression. "You can't escape me…" Emma tried to say something. Her mouth was dry and hopeless.

 _Damnit, Emma! Just wake up!_ Emma screamed to herself. Her eyes widened as Regina kneeled down to her.

Meeting her frightened gaze with a beautifully wicked one, Regina smiled. "… even in your dreams."

Then, Emma clenched her eyes as tightly as she possibly could. She could feel the breath from Regina's light chuckle against her skin. She shivered.  _Just change it! Emma, just change it!_

Regina watched, transfixed as Emma deeply concentrated. Regina's expression became exceedingly worried as she saw the havoc she created slowly simmer. The lighting stopped spurting from the sky every moment and the wind died down to an almost pleasant breeze. Regina stood back, shocked. She spun around slowly, watching the world around them change before her eyes.

Emma held her knees close to her, her eyelids still glued in furious meditation.

The pond began to dry up. The water from it could be seen floating in little droplets up to the sky. Regina gawked, eyebrows furrowed as she witnessed the terrain under her feet become dry and coarse. The trees of the forest were also disappearing. The water in the pond ascended into the sky until there was nothing left. Then, tranquility.

Regina's breathing grew shallow as the new dream landscape reached fruition before her. It was empty and desolate. She had almost forgotten that Emma was there until she heard the lightest of sniffling sounds coming from the ground below her.

Regina looked down to see Emma, still wearing the purple dress. It was tattered and stained by the storm and mud. Her eyes were still screwed shut.

Emma shook, her mind forcing her into a different place, a different time-  _anything_  to leave that hell behind. When she felt the hardened ground under her feet and the serene air barely moving around her she slowly began to open her eyes. A gasp escaped her lips when she saw what she did.

Emma had created a desert. But there was nothing save the waterless chalky terrain that seemed to stretch for miles and miles, possibly forever. Still shaking, Emma began to untangle her limbs and steady herself to her feet. She was aware of Regina's glare as she rose.

"What have you  _done_?!" Regina ragingly accused without thinking.  _Stop!_  She ordered herself.  _She needs to believe that she is in charge now._

"I," Emma brushed off her dress and raised her hand to shield her eyes from beating sun overhead. "I don't know."  _My god,_  Emma thought as her and Regina stood in stagnant silence. Their eyes bore daggers into each other.  _I can't, I need to wake up_.  _I need to-._

Just as she had that thought Regina's form began disappearing in front of her. She reached out her hand in surprise but only managed to touch air, because Regina was gone before she could do anything else.

Emma was alone, her hand still outstretched towards where Regina once stood. Then, without warning, she dropped to her knees and the tears began bursting from her eyes. She refused to wipe them away, refused to acknowledge their existence. Her heart felt heavy and she shook her head back and forth, trying to force herself out of slumber. She held her hands in front of her face and watched as she too slowly began disappearing.

….

"Mom! Mom!"

Regina felt small hands holding her shoulders in a death grip as she was being shaken almost violently. Her eyes shot open to see Henry staring at her with desperate and terrified eyes.

"Henry!" Regina sat up from her bed instantly, pulling Henry close to her chest and stroking his hair with an unstable hand. "What's wrong?!" She begged as she began rocking her ten year old.

"I got up for a glass of water and…" Henry said between stuttered breaths. "And I heard you yelling. I came in and you were breathing really hard and when I got closer it looked like you were drowning. Your face…" He looked up at his mother. Regina fixed her incredibly worried eyes on him. "You were scared. Your eyes were closed but you looked so scared, Mom."

Regina pulled him even closer, making a calming  _Shhh_  sound. "It's okay, honey. It was just a bad dream! I'm so sorry it made you so upset." She kissed the top of his head. Henry nuzzled closer to her and Regina felt like she finally had Henry again. In this moment, Henry was  _her_  child and no one else's.

After a few minutes Regina gently pushed Henry back so she could look at him. She smiled and softly brushed a piece of loose hair back into place on his forehead.

"You should go back to bed," Regina said as she began removing the covers from her body. Henry gave her an unsure glance. "Come on," Regina encouraged with a light chuckle. "I'll read you a chapter from that book of yours."

Henry's face broke out into a smile. "Okay!"

"That's what I thought." Regina smiled as she pulled her sleeping robe on over her nightgown. She pulled the ties of the robe tight and began following Henry out of her bedroom. Before joining Henry, she leaned against the doorframe and watched as he hurriedly scampered back to his bedroom. She threw a glance over her shoulder to her bed, the black silk covers now disheveled and her pillows strewn about where her head had laid. Her chest clenched in hollow anxiety. What was done was done. There was no turning back for her now.

….

Emma's eyes flickered open. She found herself in the room that she fell asleep in. She had curled into a ball over the course of the nightmarish episode. No, not  _nightmarish_. Emma had a full-blown nightmare that she felt down to her core.

She felt the threat of tears coming but she refused. Not again. After a few minutes lying, or rather trembling, in the same position, Emma slowly sat up. After pulling her body out of bed she padded to the kitchen for a glass of water. She shivered slightly when she opened the freezer to fish out some ice.

Emma sat on a stool as she sipped her water. She was still pretty shell shocked. She had never dreamed so vividly and maliciously about anyone before, especially not Regina. Sure, Regina did evoke a sense of raw hatred towards Emma but Emma knew that there was more to it than that. Emma understood that Regina must have demons. It's the only way a person turns out as icy as that.

Emma gyrated the glass in her hand, watching the ice slide in quick circles around the inside of the cup. After a while the cubes shrunk smaller and smaller until Emma could no longer distinguish them from the water.  _Maybe_ , Emma thought as she took her last few sips.  _Regina is just waiting for someone to melt her._


	4. Ride With Me

"You look like hell," Ruby said as she placed a plate of fries and a hamburger in front of Emma. Emma looked up at her with exhausted eyes. She hadn't been able to get back to sleep the night before. On top of that she had to take care of other annoyances that the storm had caused such as the fallen tree outside of the courthouse and the exploded fire hydrant on Cedar Drive. It was hit by lighting. Lightning. Emma rubbed her hand against her forehead. The morning had not been nice to her, except of course for Mary-Margaret who heated up the dinner she skipped out on the night before for breakfast.

"Yea," Emma ran a hand through her blonde locks. She tried not to think about Regina. "I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Oh?" Ruby said, leaning against the counter. Her eyebrows furrowed in a concerned expression. "Why?"

"Just," Emma stabbed the hamburger with her fork and sliced it down the middle with her knife, almost predatorily. "Weird dreams." Ruby watched her curiously. Emma knew she didn't need to eat her burger like this but she just needed to take out her frustration on  _something_.

"Weird how?"

Emma was about to answer when Granny came out from the kitchen.

"Ruby, we have customers who are waiting." Granny warned, making Ruby roll her eyes and push herself away from the counter.

"Sorry," Ruby grumbled as she left Emma to take another customer's order.

"No problem…" Emma smiled lightly as she watched Ruby walk away. She continued her massacre of her hamburger, her shoulders slumping. She played the last night's dream over and over in her head.  _Why was Regina there? And why did she have… magical powers? No, Emma, that's ridiculous. You've been listening to too many of Henry's stories, you've-._

"Miss. Swan."

Emma's whole body froze. She slowly turned her head to look at the brunette in front of her.

Regina Mills was sporting a black pencil skirt that stopped at her knees, a black blazer over a red silk blouse, as well as a knowing smirk. Emma shifted in her seat and swallowed the bite of burger still in her closed mouth.

"Good afternoon, mayor." She croaked out.

Regina rested a hand on the counter and let her gaze land on Emma. "I hope that this storm hasn't taken too much out of you. You look absolutely exhausted." The flicker of amusement in Regina's eye did not go unnoticed by Emma.

"Yea," Emma replied with a snort. "I've heard." She returned her attention to her food, hoping that the woman who was daringly close to her would move away.

"Well," Regina said, making eye contact with Ruby from a few seats down. "Do get some rest tonight." Emma's face fell into confusion as she glanced at Regina. Ruby appeared a few seconds later.

"What can I get for you, Mayor Mills?" Ruby asked, her eyes quickly shifting between Emma and Regina for a second before settling on the brunette.

"Just a coffee, please." Regina's lips formed a small smile. Emma, taking this as her opportunity to get out, practically inhaled the last few bites of her breakfast and pulled a few bills out of the pocket of her red jacket.

"Thanks, Ruby." Emma set the money on the table and hurried for the door. Regina's vision followed Emma as she left the diner.

….

Her calm composure was gone. Regina was in her office, tapping her foot anxiously as she sat at her desk. Last night did not go as she had planned it, in the slightest. She was pulled from the dream too soon to gain control of it again. When Regina tried to meet Emma later in the night after putting Henry back to sleep, she wasn't there. In fact, Regina could barely remember the second dream she had that night at all.

Regina's fingers clenched around the pen in her palm then slowly released it. She let the pen roll out of her hand, down her long fingers, until it landed on the desk with a clean click.

Regina rose from her chair, smoothing out her skirt. Each click of her heels led her closer to her coat rack. Smoothly, she slipped her black coat on over her blazer. She was determined to get to the bottom of this. If she wasn't enough, perhaps she needed to consult the only other person in town who knew about magic.

….

"I have to say," Mr. Gold commented as he dusted a wooden clock on display. "I wasn't expecting you to need my help so soon."

Regina scoffed. Maybe it was a bad idea to come here in the first place. "I don't  _need_  your help." Regina replied, coolly sliding her hands into her pockets. "I just wanted to consult with you…"

"… About the potion." Mr. Gold finished her sentence as he admired his handy work by observing the clock from all sides. His tone denoted distraction and Regina was beginning to get annoyed.

"Yes," She answered carefully. "I wanted to know exactly how it's supposed to work once you have chosen the two to fall under its spell."

Mr. Gold turned his head to look at Regina with an almost confused face. "You don't already know? My, my, Regina." He shook his head in fake disappointment as he moved on to shining up his display case. After seeing Regina's impatient features etched into her face he continued. "I would expect you to be very familiar with  _sleeping curses_ , Ms. Mayor." Regina rolled her eyes.

"Not this one." Regina answered a little more aggressively.

"Calm down, deary." Mr. Gold replied, setting his cloth down on the glass to focus all of his attention on Regina. "I warned you, or at least tried to warn you."

"And why would you care about me?" Regina questioned.

"Simple." Mr. Gold replied. "I wanted the potion, you had it. You were  _supposed_  to give it to  _me_. So I tried to tell you of its danger. But, of course, you did not listen. And now you need my help, don't you?" Regina's stare flew away from his face and picked a random corner of the room. "Ah," Mr. Gold nodded to himself. "You do. Well," He began walking with his can around the glass display counter. Regina still was not looking at him. "First I need to know who the unfortunate souls were that fell into your trap."

"I drank it." Regina answered, her jaw clenching in almost embarrassment, but not quite. She refused to feel that emotion around Mr. Gold or anyone else. She couldn't help the small sneer as she saw Mr. Gold raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"And who did you choose for the second half?" Mr. Gold pressed.

Regina looked up at the ceiling and crossed her arms over her chest, pulling them in tightly. "Emma Swan." She finally answered.

"Oh," Mr. Gold smirked. "Interesting choice."

"I had my reasons." Regina defended coldly.

"I'm sure," He nodded, placing his hands over one and other on the handle of his cane. "You wouldn't have done it otherwise."

"The vial…" Regina began but the words seemed to disappear on her lips.

"It chose for you, as it always does." Mr. Gold rested in his cane, watching Regina's features almost soften.

"It shined so bright when I was with her." Regina's eyes gazed out into nothing for a second before she pulled herself back.

"There's always a reason, deary." Mr. Gold affirmed. "So, you want to know how it will work once you two are  _inside_ of the dream?"

"Yes, that's what I came here for." Regina pressed her lips together.

Mr. Gold nodded. "Well, basically when you are both asleep at the same time, you will meet in a  _dream_  land of either of your choosing. Whoever falls asleep second will meet who fell asleep first in whatever dream they are currently in."

 _Explains the haven-like pond_. Regina thought to herself.  _And the dresses. God, those dresses._

"Once you are in the dream, you are in control of everything you do. You can be anything,  _do_ anything. That's part of the spell. You see? It's called  _lucid dreaming_ , deary." He stood up a little straighter and returned to where he was originally stationed behind the display counter.

"Okay, so?" Regina pressed her hands against the glass counter. Her eyes danced over his cocky features. "I knew all of that. So what does it mean?"

"It  _means_ , deary, that Emma will have just as much control over the dream as you do. You will be equals in that world."

"But, I will have my powers." Regina countered, pulling back and returning to her previously confident stance.

"So will she." Mr. Gold replied matter-of-factly. "She will be able to use magic as well."

"How is that even possible?" Regina's hands clenched in fists in her pockets.

"Don't you see?" Mr. Gold was surprised that Regina didn't understand yet. "If she wants power, she can have it. It's  _her_  dream as well."

….

That night, Regina laid on her back in her bed, staring at the ceiling for what seemed like hours. She couldn't explain it but she was feeling an odd excitement about seeing Emma again. She quickly tried to push any thoughts like that out of her mind, though.

Regina refused to feel anything other than distaste towards the spunky blond who managed to change everything in her life in a matter of months. No, she wasn't excited to see Emma. She was excited to make Emma squirm under her thumb. That was it, and nothing else.

The brunette let out a frustrated grunt as she flipped onto her stomach, forcing her eyes closed. Again, she tried to let her body relax in order to slip into sleep. She dug her fingers into her pillow anxiously. Part of her didn't want to fall asleep.

_Can I really successfully carry out this mission? Do I still… want to?_

_Stop!_  Regina screamed in her mind.  _You have one job, Regina. One job._

….

The blinding light of the Ferris wheel was the first to catch Regina's attention when she finished materializing. She rolled her eyes.  _Really, Emma? An amusement park?_ She began walking past the rides and attractions, her heels clicking as she went. Surprisingly, Regina had control of her wardrobe this time around.

The moon shined bright against the darkness of the night sky. The amusement park colors glowed brilliantly and Regina couldn't help it. She betrayed herself with a small grin. She continued to walk through the park, people watching all of Emma's creations.

Then she saw her. A crowd of people separated in front of a basketball hoop game, creating a path for Regina's eyes to find Emma's back. Regina saw the younger woman's blond curls bouncing around as she picked up the basketballs that were being dispensed by the machine. Then, she heard the blonde's laugh. Regina smiled again, this time letting it reach her eyes.

Not wanting to be noticed just yet, Regina found a wooden bench to sit on. She could still see Emma from there but it was a safe enough distance away that Emma wouldn't be able to see her unless she really tried. Regina watched as Emma sunk hoop after hoop. Her thoughts were so focused on Emma that Emma stopped shooting the basketball.

Regina sat up in surprise as Emma began walking towards her.  _What the…_  Regina internally questioned as she waited for Emma to stand right in front of her.

Emma's mind shifted oddly during her game, and she felt an overwhelming need to be somewhere else- to walk somewhere else in the park. That is how she found herself standing, for the second night in a row, right in front of Regina Mills.

"Hello," Regina greeted cautiously, looking up at the blond from her seat. She wasn't quite sure to go about this. Emma had to think that she was the only one in charge of this dream.

"You're here again." Emma responded. Emma's heartbeat quickened when she saw the brunette in her power suit. Regina was surprised when Emma's confusion morphed into a grin. "Miss me?"

Regina was taken aback slightly by this. Hadn't she just left Emma's lucid mind reaching out to her in an arid desert not twenty-four hours ago? Hadn't she just watched as Emma was so scatterbrained by her that she practically ran out of Granny's? Again, Regina pulled in her composure and tried to act the way Emma would expect her to act.

"No," Regina answered. "Of course not, Miss. Swan." Emma rolled her eyes and rested her hands on her hips. Of course, the blonde was wearing her normal red jacket with skinny jeans.

"Regina," Emma looked up at the sky. The stars seemed to be moving around them faster that they normally would. Regina looked up as well, watching the constellations hover above them. Then, Emma cast her vision back at Regina. "Ride the Ferris wheel with me." Emma's confidence intrigued the older brunette.

"What?" Regina blurted out without thinking.

"Ride the Ferris wheel." Emma repeated. "With me. We'll sit with each other."

Regina could see how much Emma wanted this. It amused her in a way that she couldn't explain or even begin to compute. Regina figured that if Emma wanted this, then she had to go along with it. It  _was_ her dream after all.

Regina stood up from the bench, her eyes locked with Emma's the whole time. Emma smirked at her and again Regina was taken aback. Still, she followed Emma towards the hectic cluster of vibrancy and lights that was the Ferris wheel.

Emma chose their carriage and pulled Regina into in by the hand. The physical context surprised Regina. Her eyes winded slightly as Emma motioned for her to sit on the opposite side of the transport.

Regina smoothed out her skirt and sat. Emma latched the door closed and sat down satisfactorily. Regina watched Emma smile widely as they began rising with the wheel.

The light bulbs cast glowing beams on Emma's face as the wheel turned to bring the two women higher and higher. Regina's mouth gaped slightly as she witnessed the park unveil itself underneath her. She had to admit, Emma could paint worlds that were more beautiful than anything Regina could imagine.

The looping rollercoasters and ground rides below them slithered and spun. People became small enough for one to cover them up with their thumb from Emma and Regina's vantage point. Regina watched in pure amazement as Emma hummed to herself. Ribbons of color were floating out of her closed lips. Floating. Regina could literally  _see_  as Emma made music.

Emma's eyes were closed as she continued to hum a tune she had never heard before.

"Regina," Emma murmured. Regina didn't catch it at first but Emma murmured it again. "Regina, tell me something."

Regina bit her bottom lip.  _She's in. She's immersed within this._  "What would you like to know, Miss. Swan?"

Emma opened her eyes to lock onto Regina's. Regina met the intimate stare, even taking it a step further to lean forward in their carriage so that her elbows were rested on her knees. Emma opened her mouth to ask but then closed it quickly again. A look of hesitation crossed her features.

"Do you..." Emma's voice trailed off. Regina's eyebrows furrowed.

"No, just ask me what you were going to ask." Regina urged. She clasped her hands together, ringing her fingers in knots.

"Do you, think about me?" Emma's vision latched onto Regina's. Regina's breathing stopped for a second.

"I- I..." Regina didn't know how to respond to that. Of course she thought about the younger blonde. Neither of them would be on this amusement park ride if she didn't.

Emma stopped her by gently raising a hand. "Forget it," She gave Regina a half-smile. "Can we just…" Emma looked out of the carriage into the distance of lights and what could be seen as magic. "Sit here for a while longer?" Regina face softened.

"Sure." Regina nodded.

…

Regina Mills couldn't remember the next morning why she hadn't turned that dream into a disaster of nightmarish proportions. She could have. She had the magic and power to do so. Something stopped her though. Maybe it was her interest in Emma's dream world. Maybe it was the uncertainty of what Emma would choose to do next.

Or maybe it was the fact that Regina  _didn't want_  to set that Ferris wheel ablaze. She didn't want Emma to reach out to her with broken and misty eyes as she disappeared into the alerting shock of waking up. This time, the women had shared a comfortable silence, watching the colors dance around the park.

Emma was the first to begin disappearing this time. Regina watched with an almost pained expression as Emma's form became air in front of her. Then, Regina forced herself to follow the same queue.

They both woke up in separate beds, on separate sides of town.

Emma Swan opened her eyes slowly. She immediately felt the need to pull her blanket closer in order to heighten the already fuzzy feeling that was coming out of her. Emma's lips curled into a smile as she remembered the vision of Regina sitting with her in a small carriage at the top of a large world.


	5. Words Unsaid

The initial warmth Emma felt when she woke up that morning had dissipated by the afternoon into pure confusion. Why was she dreaming of Regina? This was the second night in a row that the stunning brunette had made an appearance in Emma's subconscious.

Emma stirred her hot chocolate and tried to focus on the work at hand. She was sitting in the station, looking over more paper work that had to be filled out before construction could be done to repair the gazebo that was damaged in the storm. Thankfully, the storm died the day before. The town was still feeling the repercussions from it, though. Her eyebrows furrowed as she picked up one of the papers and skimmed through what it said.

_Reparative construction will begin on the 26_ _th_ _of this month upon approval from the mayor._

Emma gulped down the sip of hot chocolate she was holding in her mouth. Her grip on the mug tightened.  _Okay,_  She slipped the paper back into its file. _I guess I'll need to pay the mayor another visit._ She stood up and got her coat from the rack. She walked out of the station and found her yellow punch bug.

As she drove through the streets of Storybrooke, she couldn't help remembering the two dreams, and how different they both were.

 _Why had the first night's dream been a nightmare and the second night's dream been a fantasy?_  Emma hit the breaks on her car, barely making the red light in front of her.

 _No_ , Emma shook her head.  _Not a fantasy, just a nice dream. Why would I have a fantasy about the mayor?_ Emma's cheeks reddened when she thought of the only real reason someone would fantasize about someone else.

Her car pulled up to the curb in front of Regina's mansion. Emma's eyes raked over the house, wondering how lonely it got in that big house when Henry was off at school. Emma rarely saw Regina any other place besides Granny's and the occasional run in on the street.

Emma slipped out of her car and closed the door behind her as she started up the path to Regina's front door.

Strange nervousness whipped through her after she knocked on the door. When the door opened, Emma had to take a step back because she didn't realize how close she would be to the mayor when there was no door between them.

"Miss. Swan," Regina said. Regina and Emma both noticed that Regina's voice didn't hold as much drawl and annoyance as it usually did on Emma's unexpected visits. Emma wondered why this was, but then quickly remembered why she was there.

Emma held out the envelope containing the permit files to Regina. Regina's eyes dipped to look at the envelope and then quickly returned to Emma's face. "The gazebo outside of the courthouse." Emma said, responding to the question she knew Regina was going to ask. "It needs repair as well. This is going to need your signature."

Regina closed her mouth into a tight smile. "Of course," She took the file from Emma's hands, their fingertips brushing for barely a second. Emma pulled her hand back and subconsciously tapped her thumb against the fingers that touched Regina's.

Both women stood in Regina's doorway for another minute after that. A whole minute of looking at each other, eyes raking slowly up and down each other's bodies, both wanting to say something about the two nights they had shared together. Neither could, but for different reasons.

Regina knew that she wasn't imagining this. Emma was being affected by the dreams. She could tell by the way the younger blonde's lips twitched just slightly as if about to open to say something, only to be closed again. Part of Regina wished that Emma would say something about it. She wanted to know that Emma was thinking about it just as much as she was.

Emma offered Regina a parting half smile, taking one last glance into Regina's brown orbs, and then she was gone. Regina's eyes followed Emma's yellow punch bug as it drove away, and out of vision.

….

The nights that followed were all about the same. Regina would purposely fall asleep later in the night when she knew Emma would already be asleep. Regina would meet Emma in the dream that was already woven together by her subconscious. Once it was a beach with salty air and dove like seagulls, another time it was a crowded city street with blaring car horns and rude people. Either way, the dreams would always go the same way.

Regina would materialize, her form becoming one with the environment. She would get the lay of the land and soon after find Emma. Every time Regina found her, she only watched for a while. She didn't want to disturb the younger woman. She would watch as Emma ran through the water at a beach's shore, the warm sun glowing against her tan skin. She would sit back and observe Emma enjoy the creations of her sleep, and then she would enter. Regina noticed how Emma was no longer surprised to see her.

Seeing Regina in her dreams became a habitual thing for Emma. Every morning she would wake up with the uncanny feeling that she was getting to know Regina better. She also thought it was crazy because every moment Emma spent with Regina outside of her slumber consisted of hesitant eye contact and quick sentences.

There was something magical- well obviously- for Regina about witnessing Emma living in a scene she created. In each dream, because Regina refused to affect anything by her own doing, Emma dictated every firework, every sunset. After awhile, Regina began to look forward to these meetings with Emma Swan. She anticipated every night before her eyes shut, where she would find Emma tonight. She wanted to fall asleep late, allowing Emma to choose their location. She desired to see Emma happy. And that scared more than she could have imagined it would.

…

"I need you to pick Henry up from school today."

Emma looked up from the newspaper she was reading. She didn't even hear Regina come into the station. But now the confident, as always, mayor was standing in front of her. The blonde set her coffee down and looked at Regina curiously. Emma noticed that Regina was wearing the dark blue silky shirt that Emma had borrowed so long ago. She couldn't help smirk a little at the realization. Regina noticed this and felt a slight blush rise in her cheeks. She hadn't even noticed when she left the house that morning.

"Okay," Emma answered. A small smile broke out on her face. "Can do."

Regina nodded. She held in her own satisfaction at Emma's smile. "I only asked because I will be in meetings all afternoon." She added coolly.

"Of course." Emma affirmed almost too quickly. Regina stood in front of Emma's desk for a moment longer. Both women thought something else was going to be said. Regina wanted to ask Emma about herself, how her day was going. But she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to break the barrier she had set up by igniting the spell in the first place.

"Well," Regina cleared her throat. "Thank you." Emma nodded and looked back down at her newspaper, unable to watch Regina leave. Upon hearing Regina's heels click away, Emma set the newspaper on the desk a little too aggressively. She ran a hand through her hair, reflecting on what just happened. Every exchange with Regina since the dreams started had been taxing on Emma. After every night passed, she wanted more and more desperately to talk to Regina in real life, and not just in her fantasyland. She wanted Regina to be  _real_  and be in front of her. There had to be a reason that it was Regina and no one else that was making repeat occurrences.

Hours passed by in the station. The phone never rang. No one came to see her. Emma was trapped in the monotony of her day and within her own thoughts and her own regrets. Every time Emma wanted say something of importance to Regina, it was as if a sock in her throat was stopping her. Even in her dreams, she could barely talk to Regina about anything.

Emma remembered when she had dreamed of Regina and her on the Ferris wheel. It was so long ago but Emma could still recall it in vivid detail. She couldn't help but question why her dreams began playing out to her like real life. Ever since Regina's first fearsome appearance, Emma memorized each dream as though it happened while she was awake.

Emma tried her best to push it out of her mind as she grabbed her keys and left to pick up Henry. She clenched the steering wheel in her hands, enable to understand why the woman who had only shown her reserved hostility in the past was now the one she looked forward most to seeing.

"Emma?" Henry's young voice asked as he slipped into the passenger's side of her yellow bug. "You're picking me up today?"

"Yep," Emma replied with a smile as she pulled Henry's door closed. "So buckle up, kiddo."

"Where's my mom?" Henry asked as he pulled the belt over himself.

"She asked me to pick you up because she's in meetings all day today." Emma replied as she smoothly pressed the gas pedal down to get the car moving.

"Cool, so where are we going?"

Emma raised an eyebrow at him. "Your house…" She chuckled. "Where else?"

"Could we stop at the playground? I want to discuss Operation Cobra." Henry replied enthusiastically.

Emma glanced at him with an almost surprised expression. She had almost forgotten about Henry's book and all the stories that go along with it.

"We could talk about it now." Emma offered. Henry looked disappointed. "Sorry, kid. If I don't get you home I don't even want to know what your mom will do to me."

Henry pulled his book out of his backpack. Emma eyed it with new curiosity. She fixed her focus back on the road and listened to Henry.

"Mary-Margaret still thinks she's, Mary-Margaret." Henry said as he flipped to the page showing Snow White in a brown cape. Her eyes were focused on something in the distance. Emma smiled lightly at the picture. "I think that you can work on cracking her, since you guys spend a lot of time together."

"Right," Emma agreed as she turned the wheel left. Henry flipped a few more pages until it landed on a picture of the Evil Queen. She was dressed elegantly in a long black gown. Her dark hair fell down past her shoulders and her face wore a wicked grin.

Emma looked down at it and hit the breaks suddenly. Thankfully she was already slowing down for the red light. Henry jolted forward and Emma reached out her arm in front of him to stop him from jerking too far.

"Sorry, kid." Emma said sincerely as she pulled her arm back and rested her hand on the wheel.

"No problem." Henry replied, going back to his book. He was about to turn the page when Emma's hand came down on the picture of the Evil Queen. Henry looked up at her questioningly.

"Her," Emma said. "Can you tell me more about the queen?" She asked as the light turned to green and she began driving again.

"Well," Henry began. "She's the stepmother of Snow White. She's the one who put Snow White in a sleeping curse."

 _A sleeping curse?_ Emma couldn't help but let out an amused grunt.  _Sounds a lot like what's happening to me_. "How did she do it?"

Henry smiled in response to Emma's newfound interest in this  _very_  important endeavor. "She enchanted an apple and made Snow eat it. She only needed to take one bite."

"Hmmm." Emma replied in an interested tone. She could see the mayor's house getting closer as she drove further down the street. When she approached the curb in front of Regina's house, she stopped the car to let Henry out.

"Will you pick me up again tomorrow?" Henry asked with a grin.

"I'll see what I can do." Emma replied. Henry smiled as he picked up his bag and exited the car.

"Bye, Emma!" He waved as he started running towards the house.

Emma watched him to make sure his key got him into the front door then began driving away.

"So  _that's_  it," Emma said to herself with a light chuckle. "The  _Evil Queen_  has put me under a sleeping curse."

….

Regina practically fell onto her bed that night, consumed with exhaustion. She had only managed to slip off her heels before her back hit the mattress with a drained thump. Absentmindedly she began unbuttoning her blouse. After the last button was undone she pulled the silk from her body. She held it in her hands for a moment. Her fingers danced over the buttons, knowing that Emma Swan's hands must have nimbly done them up that one time she wore it. At first, when Regina saw Emma wearing her clothes, she was furious. It was an intimate thing to do, allow someone to wear your clothes. But now Regina's fingers trailed over the silk, imagining Emma wearing it again, and how it looked so right on her.

After Regina had her fill she dropped the shirt on the ground and it was quickly followed by her skirt and nude tights.

Regina laid on her back, looking up at the same ceiling she met every night before sleep. After settling under the covers, Regina curled a pillow under her head. Her eyes shut without any protest and what felt like moments later, she was being transported.

….

Regina appeared in a small room, cramped with beds that were lined in rows. Young children hurried passed her, not even noticing the woman in the room. The walls were bleak; a light blue color that Regina imagined was supposed to feel uplifting. She took her time in surveying the room, noticing very little which offered any interesting information. The rows of beds all shared the same blankets and pillows. Zipped suitcases were tucked snugly underneath them. Regina was amazed and troubled by how militant it all appeared to be. Then, she felt a soft hand tugging on her skirt.

"Didn't you hear?" One child who looked to be about five said. She was wearing tight pigtails and a ratty sweatshirt. Regina looked down at her, confused as to why this girl could see her but it didn't seem like anyone else could.

"Hear what?" Regina asked, afraid of the answer.

"We get a new kid today!" The little girl replied enthusiastically, then left Regina to join the rest of the cluster huddled at the door.

Regina watched with incredible curiosity as the mass of children and teenagers ran towards the entry at the end of the long room. She couldn't see the source of the commotion. Piqued with interest, Regina followed the crowd. When she saw what, or rather who, was standing in the door, her mouth opened in a gape.

"Everyone, this is Emma." A middle-aged woman, who Regina could only assume held some authority, announced. "I hope you all will show her what a nice place Mary's Home for Children can be." With that, the woman in her tight ill-fitting pantsuit left.

Regina had to blink a few times before she could clearly comprehend what she was seeing.

Emma Swan, who appeared to be about 13, stood in the doorway with a solemnly stoic face, clutching a small suitcase in her trembling hand.


	6. The Child Within

Regina’s body froze. Immediately she felt out of place and wrong, like something had dramatically shifted. And it had. The woman she had come to expect seeing every night was now a young child.

 

Emma Swan set her bag down where she stood, with a room full of wide eyes staring right at her. Her own eyes bore through them as if they weren’t even there. Regina was surprised to see that Emma didn’t even see _her_.

 

Slowly, Regina began to back up and out of the group of kids. The crowd seemed to disperse as Emma began to walk down a row of beds, somehow she was no longer as interesting as she was two seconds ago. Emma assessed each bed covered with the same blankets and thin pillows with cool indifference. Regina latched her eyes on the younger girl, watching from a distance.

 

 _Can Emma see me? What is this?_ Regina felt uncomfortable; she stumbled into something she was not prepared for in the slightest.

 

Emma decided on an empty bed by a small window. She sat upon it, immediately taking the pillow in her lap. She looked out the window.

 

Carefully, Regina approached her, standing at the foot of the bed. Regina was standing right in front of her, but Emma didn’t even glance in Regina’s direction.

 

Regina’s sight matched Emma’s so that she was looking out the window as well. At first, it appeared to be just a bright light that shined through. Then, Regina squinted and began to see more.

 

Emma touched the window. Emma could feel a mist start below her eyelids as the scene she was creating emerged before her. Out the window, a happy family played with a golden retriever.

 

The father was tall, a strong man. He held his two year old on his shoulders well he kicked a soccer ball back and forth with his son. The mother, a beautifully tranquil woman, sat on a lawn chair reading a novel. Emma observed with quiet jealousy as the family laughed played together. Then, when she felt the a single tear, she pulled her fingers back from the glass. The image instantly disappeared.

 

Regina, having watched the whole scene unfold, started to feel a familiar stinging sensation behind her eyes as well. She whipped the liquid under her eyelid away quickly. The sound of the children laughing and playing in the room behind them was somehow drowned out by the practically silent sniffling coming from the blonde before her.

 

 _I wish she could see me._ Regina’s heart was literally hurting. It felt as though Emma Swan was pulling something out from within her. She wanted nothing but to comfort the girl before her. _Why can’t she see me? I need her to see me. I can’t just watch her go through this alone, not again._

 

Just as this last thought passed through Regina’s mind; she felt a strange twinge in her chest. Her delicate hand flew to the middle of her chest, fear painted in her eyes. Regina’s skin began tingling. Then, Regina realized that her whole body was dissolving. She reached out for Emma, seeking desperately to not leave. She couldn’t leave this child with quivering lips and misty eyes.

 

Regina thought she was waking up.

 

After she knew that her form was gone from that world, Regina opened her eyes. She jumped back in utter shock when she realized that she was not in her bed. She was still in the dream, though her vantage point was a tad different.

 

….

 

 

“Don’t worry, child.” The woman in the tight pantsuit and unfeeling expression assured Emma as she led the girl up the steps to the materializing gray building. Emma looked up to the construction, her mind rapidly adding levels of dark brick and sad windowpanes. The sky overhead held a potency of gloom that made Emma sick to her stomach. “Not every kid is meant for every home.”

 

Emma nodded, her head drooping as she followed the woman through the door.

 

“Yea,” Emma agreed with a whisper. She turned around one last time to watch the street behind her disappear behind the closing door. “And definitely not me.”

 

….

 

Regina saw Emma’s head whip towards her after the brunette let out a gasp of surprise. Emma’s eyes immediately softened as they landed on Regina.

 

 _My god._ Regina just stared, not knowing how to respond to Emma’s attention.

 

“You new too?” Emma asked, patting the seat next to her on her bed. Regina raised an eyebrow as she hesitantly took a step forward. Emma smiled through her pained expression. She shifted her gaze back to the window. The image of the family did not reappear.

 

Regina took another step forward, but this time something caught her attention. She didn’t hear the distinct click sound her heels made when they met with hard floor. The brunette jerked her head to her feet. A soft gasp escaped her lips as she saw that a pair of black high-tops had replaced her stilettos. This lead the woman to explore further until she was holding her arms out in front of her and her breathing quickened in panic.

 

“Emma,” Regina croaked out, trying to find someway to form her words into a coherent thought. “What do I look like to you?” She looked at Emma with a gaze that pulled an immediate confusion from the blonde.

 

“You’re a kid.” Emma said, her eyebrow rising questioningly. “If you weren’t, you probably wouldn’t be here.”

 

Regina had to sit down. She sat next to Emma on the bed while simultaneously trying to examine herself. She ran a small hand through her hair, finding that it was at least five inches longer than it should have been. A weak whimper came out of the brunette as she closed her eyes. _How in the world did this happen?!_ Regina screeched in her mind.

 

Young Emma watched as her companion’s eyebrows began to furrow in deep pain and concentration.

  
“Hey,” Emma lifted a hand to Regina’s arm to comfort her. “Relax. It’s going to be okay. I’m sure you’ll get out of here soon.”

 

Regina just stared at Emma in disbelief. How was it that Emma couldn’t see her until she became a child? How did she even become one? Regina inhaled a deep breath.

 

“Get out?” Regina asked, not knowing what else to say.

 

“Yea,” Emma gave her a hopeful smile. “Soon,”

 

They shared silence for a moment, neither knowing which part to play.

 

“How do you know my name?” Emma asked finally.

  
“I heard another girl say it.” Regina didn’t even choose those words. She had something else in mind- something like; _You arrived on my doorstep months ago claiming to be my son’s birth mother._ But as she sat on the bed, her feet kicking absentmindedly, Regina’s began to feel a strange change within herself. She could sense a build up, a boiling of her mind.

 

Regina lifted a finger to her lip, running it over the top. For the first time since she was a child, she didn’t feel the subtle crease made by her scar. There was only level skin. She looked at Emma, only this time it wasn’t the same.

 

It wouldn’t be until much later, when Regina woke up, that she would realize what Emma had done and the spell she had managed to cast.

 

“Well,” Emma said slowly, not wanting to further confuse the mysterious girl next to her. “Since you know _my_ name, what’s yours?”

 

“Regina.” Regina almost whispered as she let her finger fall to the bed.

 

“You know, I think you’ll get adopted really soon.” Emma replied, trying to sound more cheerful than she was feeling.

 

“You don’t have to be optimistic.” Regina replied softly. It didn’t come off as though Regina was trying to attack Emma’s good nature; it was more of an invitation to delve past hopeful pleasantries.

 

Emma nodded her head. “Yea, I’m sorry.” She ran a hand through her hair. Regina saw her lip quiver again. “I just, need to hear it sometimes.”

 

Regina felt a pang shoot through her. “Why’s that?”

 

“Well,” Emma folded her hands together nervously. “I,” She looked out the window again. Regina followed her gaze and to her surprise, she saw a picturesque family of four running around their backyard in the untouchable distance. Regina looked at Emma, and saw in her eyes a sense of heartbreaking yearning. “I…”

 

Regina didn’t need to hear more. She understood. Then, she outstretched a thin arm and pulled this girl she barely knew into her embrace. Emma hugged her back, appreciating the comfort from a new friend.

 

Regina didn’t even realize that Emma was crying until she felt the liquid seep through her shirt. Regina’s eyes closed and she could feel a few stubborn tears ready to slip out. She held them in for Emma’s sake.

 

Emma watched herself leave. The arms that were wrapped around Regina’s tiny form were slowly beginning to disappear. Something in her told her she had to stay, but she knew that she had no control over what was about to happen.

 

….

 

Emma Swan’s hand came down fiercely on her alarm clock. An annoyed moan came from the woman’s lips as she stretched herself out on her bed. She crinkled her eyebrows as a reflex to the aggressive sun. The morning light was shining through the window at just the angle that made Emma have to shield her eyes with her hands to keep from blinding herself.

 

She pulled the covers over her head, cocooning herself in the safety and warmth of her bedspread. The light glowed through the inside of the blanket.

 

Emma stayed under the covers of her bed for twenty minutes, hitting the snooze button on her clock every five minutes. Emma laid there trying to decipher how Regina had managed to not only slip into another one of her dreams, but also become something completely different than what she was. _Did I make that happen?_ Emma asked herself. _Well, of course it had to be me. It was my dream._ She buried her face in her pillow, inhaling deeply in an attempt to clear her mind. It didn’t work. _But why… why were we kids?_ An odd mix of sadness and comfort fell over Emma as she remembered the younger versions of themselves hugging. Emma had never had a friend like that in the system. It was always packed suitcases and new front doors, never a solid place to stand. Emma couldn’t help but feel that Regina was that for her in the dream. Regina hadn’t pushed her away when she saw how much she was hurting, she pulled her in.

 

….

 

 

Stirring her coffee vigorously, Regina Mills stared into the mirror in her office. Furnished in elegant black and white, the mayor’s office took on a style of its own.

 

There were dark bags under her eyes. She didn’t care because she knew they were going to go away. She cared more about the fact that Emma Swan had managed to pull the most confusing and possibly traumatizing trick in the book. Regina wasn’t even sure if Emma knew what she did.

 

Emma momentarily wiped out their memories while they were in that dream. The result; a digress back into childhood. It sparked in Regina after she transformed and only grew stronger until Regina was no longer a woman at all. Emma had allowed her to transport to an almost forgotten phase of her life.

 

Regina sipped her coffee, peering at herself in the mirror. Her fingers trembled as she remembered the way her and Emma had connected. In those moments, Emma had told her everything without saying barely anything. The look in Emma’s eyes when let her hand slide down the glass window that one last time, the way Regina had pulled her close. Regina imagined that this was how pure friendship must feel.  For her it was fleeting, almost pitifully so. She had watched Emma disappear while she held her. The exact moment that Emma had left, Regina transformed back into herself.

 

When the mayor woke up that morning, she reached out to the other side of her bed only to touch air. She let her hand drop to the pillow. She didn’t even know whom she was expecting to find laying beside her. 


	7. Fireworks

The sheriff station was slow that day. Emma leaned back further in her desk chair and rested her feet on the table in front of her. She absentmindedly played with the pen in her hands.

 _The days feel like they're blurring together_. Emma thought as she watched the pen spin beneath her fingertips. Emma realized then that the days were fuzzy but the nights were not. She remembered every one.

 _Every night_. Emma's eyebrows furrowed.  _Every single night. Regina is there. Am I the one who is doing this? Oh, come on, Emma. It has to be you. There's no one else pulling any puppet strings here._

Emma swung her legs off the desk and stood up, placing the pen down. She found her red jacket and clipped her walkie talkie into her belt. She had somewhere else she needed to be.

….

Regina Mills finished her coffee in silence, trying to fill her mind with something other than the blonde woman who seemed to have more power in this moment that she did. She flipped through the files on her desk. They were an array of proposals for new repairs and updates on construction around town. Regina was convinced people were beginning to use the storm that happened two weeks ago as an excuse to have all of their odd jobs approved. She rolled her eyes as she put her pen to the paper, signing it in long languid letters.  _Regina Mills_.

She heard the knock on her door and her head snapped up. Setting the pen down carefully, Regina stood up. She smoothed her skirt against her hands and quickly flipped a piece of hair back into place. The clicks on her heels on her marble floor led her to her front door.

Emma was standing there with an unreadable expression. It was almost guilty. Regina raised an eyebrow before resting her weight on her left hip.

"To what do I owe this visit, Sheriff?" Regina asked. Emma pulled her lips into a tight smile.

"I wanted to see how you are."

Silence.

"Excuse me?" It didn't register for Regina. Emma Swan stopped by to  _see how she was doing_? Then she shook her head, trying to erase the rudeness in her response. "I mean, I'm sorry, what?"

Emma dug her hands in the pockets of her jacket. "I wanted to see how you're doing. We haven't really talked in a week and I know you've been busy with all of the proposals and stuff that have been coming your way."

Regina internally bit her lip. "You're here because you are concerned with how many papers I have to sign?"

"No," Emma answered too quickly. "I mean, yes. And I guess, just to see how you are."

"Well," Regina stood up a little straighter. "I assure you that I am doing just fine."

"Good." Emma offered Regina a small smile. Just as Emma was starting to turn away towards the road, Regina stopped her.

"And you?" Regina asked, the slightest hint of panic in her voice. Regina didn't realize until Emma's eyes glossed over her that she had reached out her hand. She had almost pulled the sheriff back by the jacket. Emma stood there, lips slightly parted and eyebrows lightly creased. "You. How are you?"

Emma closed her mouth, her eyes searching Regina's before answering. "Fine," She smiled again.

_What is it? Why is it that I can see this woman in my dreams every night but I can barely hold a conversation with her when she's standing right in front of me?_

The same thought passed through both of the woman's minds as they stayed there for just a moment longer. Emma was so close that Regina could reach out her hand and be able run her fingertips down the red leather if she wanted. But their hands stayed at their sides, and Regina only used her eyes to pull Emma closer. Without thinking about it, Emma leaned just a fraction of an inch closer to the mayor. A hit of a smirk appeared on Regina's face, which made Emma's cheeks burn.

Emma glanced at the ground, unsure of how she had gotten here.  _Why am I here? What was I looking to accomplish?_

"Good to hear it, Sheriff." Regina finally said, forcing her voice to sound flat and indifferent. She closed her eyes to break the eye contact she was sharing with the woman on her porch.

Emma nodded, feeling deflated. Then, she turned back around, this time not being stopped by the mayor who stood in the doorway and watched her walk away once again.

….

Emma returned to the sheriff's office and practically threw her jacket on her desk. A frustrated grunt came out of her as she sat down at her desk, no longer knowing what to feel. Regina had been different in those last few moments.

When she raked her vision over Emma's body, it was not in a way that provoked a challenge. It was now almost timid, as if though the mayor wanted to say something but was too unsure of the consequences.

And the pure proximity they shared left a lasting impression on the younger blonde. She could still see Regina, her eyes filled with anticipation of something neither of them would predict.

Emma buried her in her crossed arms on top of the desk.

 _She's not evil._  Emma almost whispered to herself but kept it in her mind.  _She's not evil._

….

Regina Mills made a mistake that night. When she let her head hit the pillow, it was nine pm. Emma Swan didn't even get off work until ten.

….

An exhausted huff came out of Regina when she realized where she was. She was at the pond again. This time, it wasn't an incredibly sunny day. The sun was hiding behind a cloud, setting a tone of pale blue over the landscape. She looked down to see that her feet were bare. She wore a white top that felt light like a feather against her skin.

Regina looked back up, surveying her surroundings. The pond was the same circular hole. Regina noted that it had filled back up with water since the last time she visited. She approached where the weak tide met the earth. Careful not to get the ankles of her jeans wet, Regina placed her feet in the water.

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"Uncharacteristic of you, Madame Mayor." Emma's voice called from the other side of the pond. Regina's head snapped up. "I would have thought you'd burn the forest down by now." She saw Emma's grin from all the way over there.

"Funny," Regina deadpanned as she watched Emma come closer to her. Since when had the blonde started getting cheeky with her? Emma was dressed in similar wear, only her shirt was blood red.

"I remember what you did the first time." Emma claimed. She arrived in a spot on the grass about ten feet away from where Regina was standing.

"I deduced that from your previous comment." Regina answered, not caring so much any more if it wasn't what Emma was expecting. She was growing tired of playing a part already written out for her.

"I want you to show me how you did it." Emma affirmed with a mischievous grin.

"You want me to reenact your nightmare?" Regina raised an eyebrow challengingly.

"No," Emma stepped closer to Regina, making the older woman eye her carefully. "I want you to show me…" Emma shrugged her shoulders. "… magic."

"You don't need me for that." Regina replied coolly, trying to contain herself. Emma was speaking to her as if she knew- as if she knew  _everything_. Regina had to remind herself that Emma's words were only the result of her subconscious mind. None of it was real to Emma.

"Come on," Emma urged. Regina didn't respond, she just clenched her fist anxiously. Emma gave up. "Fine," Emma replied.

Regina glanced at her saddened face.  _Surely, it can't hurt? To just show her a thing or two?_  She let out a defeated exhale and held her hand out straight to Emma.

Emma's eyes perked up when she saw Regina's out stretched hand. It was far enough away that Emma couldn't take it her own, but that wasn't Regina's intention.

Regina flipped her hand palm up. Emma watched as the brunette closed her eyes in deep concentration. A few moments later, little light sparks appeared about an inch above her exposed palm. Emma watched in amazement as the flickers of glowing specks danced over her palm, eradiating the full color spectrum as they went.

"It's…" Emma stepped forward. Regina eyed her, not letting her concentration falter. Emma slowly reached her hand, fingertips up, to touch the sparks. "… a rainbow."

Regina nodded, her own breath slightly taken away by the scene in front of her. Never before had she used magic do something so small, so useless, so pure. Her eyes widened as saw Emma's hand, palm down, float over the little ball of light sparks. She had no idea what the other woman was planning, but she continued to stare.

Emma's hand was shaking. It wasn't enough for anyone else but her to notice. She fixed her gaze on the colorful lightshow before her. With caution, she lowered her hand onto it. She felt a tingle in her palm as it touched the condensed magic. Her eyes glanced quickly back at Regina, whose gaze was set on her. With the tiniest of gulps, Emma looked back at the sparks and began pulling her hand back up.

To both of the women's' surprise, half of the contained magic followed suit. Emma slowly turned her hand palm up.

A wide smile formed on Emma's lips as she held in her hand a tiny technicolor firework show.

Regina tried to quell the gasp that came from her lips but to no avail.

 _Did we just….?_  Regina stared on in disbelief at Emma, who was still transfixed on her new discovery.

"Regina," Emma, still smiling, looked over at the brunette. "This is incredible."

"It's magic." Regina corrected. She glanced down at her hand, still holding the ball of pent up enchantment. She bent her fingers in and delicately closed her hand into a fist. Emma watched with curious eyes as Regina pulled her hand back and stuffed it into the back pocket of her jeans.

"Why can't they be the same? Incredibility and magic?" Emma asked in languid voice as she continued to watch her sparkling creation.

"Because," Regina looked down at the grass, lit by the overcast. "Magic always comes with a price." Emma's face fell only slightly, then she slowly followed suit and closed her own hand. She stepped closer to Regina.

"I see you everywhere, you know?" Emma asked. Regina's head snapped up and she realized just how close Emma had gotten to her in those last few seconds.

Regina just stared; hoping that one of them would wake up.

"You're in every dream I have."

 _How can she possibly remember while in a dream about her other dreams?_  Regina's head was spinning.

"What can I say, Miss. Swan?" Regina bit back her nervousness.

Emma stepped even closer. Now, her and Regina were only inches apart. They were sharing the same air and Regina knew that she needed to stop this now.

Placing her foot behind her, Regina gained a little extra space.

"I don't need you to say anything." Emma replied gently. Her eyes fell to Regina's lips and Regina's heart clenched in her chest.

Heat rose through Regina's chest and into her cheeks.

"I know why you're always here." Emma continued, her lips only an inch away from the mayor's. Regina knew that she had to but she couldn't find it inside herself to move.

Then, Emma's eyes closed. Regina watched under hooded eyes as Emma leaned in to close the gap. She felt Emma's lips just barely graze her own. The brunette stepped back suddenly and Emma fell forward.

"Emma, we can't." Regina begged, trying to get her breath back.

"What?" Emma's face fell.

"Emma, this isn't what you think. You're in a dream right now but it's not what you think it is!" The words burst out like air out of a popped balloon. Emma gave Regina an inquisitive look.

Regina froze where she stood, unable to comprehend what she had just done.

Emma touched her own fingertips to her lips then let her hand fall lazily to her side. Her eyes locked onto Regina's. "Then what is it?"

"This, the reason you keep seeing me. It's not a coincidence." Regina's heart was pounding so hard that she could hear it in her ears. "It's really me, Emma. I'm really here."

Emma raised an amused eyebrow. "You're saying this because I'm in a dream. Funny." She humored Regina.

"No," Regina was practically begging now. "I'm not lying to you."

 _Regina, stop!_ She couldn't listen to her own thoughts now.

"Really?" Emma folded her arms over her chest and rested her weight on one hip. "Prove it."

"Anything I do here won't prove anything to you. You could just write it off as a part of your dream." Regina countered.

"Then do something outside of it. When  _we're_  awake." Emma put air quotes around 'we're' which gifted her with an eye roll from Regina.

"What would you have me do?"

….

"It's magic." Regina corrected. Emma watched as Regina closed her hand into a fist.

"Why can't they be the same? Incredibility and magic?"

"Because. Magic always comes with a price." Emma's hand closed slowly.

"I see you everywhere, you know?" Emma asked. She took a few tentative steps towards Regina.

_This is the only chance I have for this. I can't lose my nerve now._

"You're in every dream I have."

"What can I say, Miss. Swan?" Emma chuckled at Regina's attempt at a sassy comeback.

Emma stepped even closer. Now, her and Regina were only inches apart. Emma's breathing hallowed when her body reacted to the close proximity of Regina's body.

"I don't need you to say anything."

_I'm so close. She's right here._

"I know why you're always here."

Then, Emma's eyes closed. She began to feel Regina's lips against hers before a startling absence left her to catch herself falling forward.

"Emma, we can't." Regina begged, trying to get her breath back.

"What?"

"Emma, this isn't what you think. You're in a dream right now but it's not what you think it is!"

Emma watched Regina's facial expressions become anxious and desperate. Her heart arched at seeing the brunette like this.

Emma touched her own fingertips to her lips then let her hand fall lazily to her side. Her eyes locked onto Regina's. "Then what is it?"

"This, the reason you keep seeing me. It's not a coincidence. It's really me, Emma. I'm really here."

_Don't fall for it. You've woken up too many nights thinking that these interactions were real only to be disappointed by the morning sun and that goddamn alarm clock._

Emma raised an amused eyebrow. "You're saying this because I'm in a dream. Funny."

"No. I'm not lying to you."

"Really?" Emma folded her arms over her chest and rested her weight on one hip.  _There's only one thing that can penetrate this wall of disbelief._ "Prove it."

"Anything I do here won't prove anything to you. You could just write it off as a part of your dream." Regina countered.

"Then do something outside of it. When  _we're_  awake." Emma put air quotes around 'we're'. Emma needed so desperately to verify to herself once and for all these dreams were no more than a figment of her imagination.

"What would you have me do?"

"Tomorrow." Emma bit her bottom lip. "Knock on my door at eight."


	8. Ardor in Darkness

"You want me to visit you?" Regina challenged with an inquisitive eyebrow as she crossed her arms over her chest. This wasn't an odd request, but Regina was expecting something a little more humiliating.

Emma silently nodded as a reply. "It'll be a Saturday. Knock on my door at eight tomorrow night. When you're there, I'll believe you."

"And what if I'm not?" Regina countered.

Emma glared at her, thinking she was really only battling herself. "Then I'll be right." Emma said in a matter-of-fact-tone.

Regina pursed her lips and nodded in defeat. "Deal."

….

That morning, Regina stared at herself in her body length mirror. She stood in her normal black skirt and blazer but she felt less fierce and more petrified.

What scared her most is that it showed on her features. Her lips were frozen in a tight scowl and her eyes searched around her reflection desperately.

 _I could just not show up._  Regina proposed to herself.  _It's a simple way out. But…_ She lost her train of thought at the sound of the phone ringing. The tiny part of her that thought it was Emma on the other end made her chest ache. Hesitantly, the mayor picked up her phone.

"Hello," She said, without a touch of fear in her voice.

"Hello, Mayor Mills. I'm calling on behalf of the Storybrooke Park and Outdoor Entertainment Association. It seems that we have yet to receive your approval of proposal 840. This was the proposal for the rebuilding of the swing-set taken down in the storm."

Regina rolled her eyes.  _This isn't over with yet?_  "Well, you have my approval."

"I will need it in writing, Madam."

"No. You can rebuild the swing-set. I have given you my approval."

There was a flustered shuffling of papers on the other end. "Al-alright. Thank you, Ms. Mills."

The line went dead and Regina threw her phone on the chair beside her window. Frustrated, she ran a hand through her short hair. Had the possibility of Emma calling her really terrified her to the point of causing actual physical discomfort?

Regina hadn't yet let herself think in full sentences about what happened last night. Everything played back to her but only in images and tingles up her spine. Emma had been so close. Regina remembered how Emma's lips feathered against hers for nearly a moment before her own trepidation forced her to pull away.

Her shoulders stiffened when the image of Emma's crestfallen face appeared in her mind. The younger woman looked so broken in that moment.

" _Emma, we can't._ "

Regina's eyes closed tightly.  _Isn't this what you wanted?_   _You wanted her gone. She'll leave in no time now._

….

Emma stared at her sheriff star that she had set on her desk upon arriving at work. The sunlight coming in from the windows tinted off the copper colored pendant. Her head tilted to the right as her eyes remained locked on the star.

To Emma, the star represented more than a job. It solidified her place in Storybrooke. Without it, Regina would have even more leverage to use in kicking her out.

Emma wanted Henry in her life more. Regina seemed to be keeping Henry at arms length from her the past few days.

No matter how hard she tried, Emma's thoughts always landed back to Regina. It was Regina, always. When she slept, it was Regina. When she woke up, it was Regina. Emma chuckled to herself as she remembered the challenge she bestowed on the mayor during their last "meeting".

 _What was I even thinking?_ Emma lips curled into a small smirk _._ Though she didn't want to admit it to herself, there was a large part of her that wanted Regina to come to her door that night. Of course there was. Emma did just try to kiss her not five hours ago in a magic fueled dream.

Emma recollected how she held the ball of purely condensed magic in her hand.  _It was so real. And we had… shared it._   _It's not just the magic either, there was something else. Why am I getting so carried away with a dream? Damnit, Emma._

She closed her hand over the star, feeling the points poke her skin. She pulled it back to her belt and clipped it there.

….

"Honey, finish your broccoli." Regina said in an unamused tone as she watched Henry push the offending green trees around his plate.

"I'm just not hungry enough for them." Henry replied as he attempted to create a piece of art with his food. He laid down and positioned the broccoli trees on the mashed potatoes, making it look like a great forest on a hill.

"You were hungry enough for ten chicken fingers." Regina pointed out as she cut into her steak.

Henry smirked as he continued to form his woodland masterpiece.

"How did your session with Mr. Hopper go today?" Regina asked before putting a piece of steak into her mouth.

"I told him he was Jiminy Cricket for the tenth time, and he didn't believe me, again…" Henry's voice trailed off as he began sprinkling shredded carrots over the mashed potatoes to simulate a walking path. "… He just said that my stories could help me 'draw parallels between worlds'."

Regina took a tentative sip from her glass as she eyed her son. "And what do you think?"

"I think he's more right than he knows."

….

Regina threw her coat on and shouted one last message to Henry. He was standing at the top of the staircase, on his way to his room.

"I want all of your homework to be done by the time I get back!"

Henry stopped at the top of the staircase and rolled his eyes.

"Yes, mom." Henry replied with an only slightly annoyed eye roll.

"Good," Regina affirmed. "Bye, sweetheart."

"Bye, mom."

Regina inhaled a deep breath before pulling her front door open. The first step she took out into the evening air felt like a shedding of skin. She felt immediately vulnerable. She knew what she had to do but she wasn't so sure that it was what she could do.

 _The second I knock on her door, she will know. How do I explain that to her? Reveal magic, reveal the curse, and reveal_ everything _? Am I really willing to do that, and for what? Why did I stop her? She could have gotten what she wanted and I could have gotten…_ Just then Regina realized that she didn't  _know_  what she wanted. She also didn't know how far Emma would take things in the dream if she hadn't stopped her. Regina felt somehow, disappointed.

After getting in the driver's seat of her Benz and buckling up, Regina sat in her driveway for what felt like an hour. It was really only about fifteen minutes but the thoughts whizzing around in Regina's mind were enough to fill the time span of sixty. Glancing at her car's clock, she read that it was 7:40.

….

7:38.

Emma laid on her bed, fingers tracing the curves in the stitching of her comforter. It was almost time. She tried not to think about it. It was just a dream.  _Just a dream_. Emma couldn't allow herself to break that wall and really believe that Regina would come to her door. That didn't stop her from wanting it though.

The feeling of just scarcely touching Regina's lips fueled a want in Emma that she couldn't just dismiss. This woman had  _become_  something for her. She was no longer just Regina, town mayor and hard ass.

 _But that's just who I wanted her to be…_  Emma closed her eyes tight, wishing desperately that she could see Regina's face again. Every night Regina was there, and real. She wanted to reach out for Regina this time, pull her in so that they could actually taste each other and shatter whatever shields they both had up.

….

7:49.

Regina's car parked outside of Emma's apartment building. She was around the block that Emma's windows didn't face.

Adrenaline rose in Regina's body, filling up her nerve endings. She watched the building carefully but nothing changed. No one went in or out. Her fingers danced over the clasp of the belt buckle. The darkness of the night cast a shadow over her features as she sat in the car, choking on her own hesitation.

….

8:00.

The ping from Emma's bedside clock affirmed her suspicion. Regina Mills was not coming. She was _not_  in her dreams. And Emma was a fool to think otherwise.

Emma climbed off her bed and walked towards her window. Mary Margaret was gone for the night and she was alone. She didn't mind the silence usually but that pink from her clock was nearly traumatizing. Emma pulled back the light drapes from the window, exposing Storybrooke's night sky. Stars were sprinkled against their deep blue canvas. Emma thought about the night Regina and her had stayed in the Ferris wheel until they both just seemed to drift away.

Emma felt a light sensation on her cheek and raised her hand to it. It was then that realized she was crying. They weren't sobs, or sniffles, just a few individual tears that made their way down her cheeks and splashed mutely against the hardwood floor. She whipped away the evidence, then decided to go into the kitchen for a glass of water. It always calmed her nerves.

After sitting down with it, Emma moved her pointer finger around the rim of the cup, grinning softly when she heard the barely audible notes coming from it. She took a few more sips and it changed the pitch of the tune. Emma did this until 8:30.

The wall clock in the kitchen glared at her, daring her to look at it. Emma kept her head down, refusing give in. She couldn't watch as time went by and no Regina appeared. When she eventually grew tired of ringing her finger around a glass she slumped back to bed.

Curling herself underneath the covers, Emma reached out a hand to touch the empty space beside her.

….

7:53.

Regina raked her nails down the seatbelt buckle. She was sure at this point that she had practically molested the object in her absentminded fidgeting.

 _This was a mistake._ Regina bit her bottom lip as she looked at her clock again.  _This was a mistake_. She threw her head back against the headrest and shut her eyes. Her chest started to rise and fall with the anxiety stifling her normal breathing rhythm.  _Everything is wrong. This isn't what was supposed to happen. None of this was supposed to happen._

….

10:00.

Both women laid awake, staring at their ceilings. Both were afraid of closing their eyes; of going to sleep.

 _I want to take it back. I want to rewind my life and just give Mr. Gold the bottle. Did it really matter than I didn't know what he was going to do with it? Did it really matter that I wouldn't have that sliver of power over him? I'm not the Evil Queen here… Do I really need to hold everyone on the palm of my hand?_  Regina pulled the covers over her head to block out the moonlight coming in through her window. She wanted darkness and nothing else.

Emma had every light in her room on. She refused to turn them off. With her room lit up it would be that much harder for her to fall into slumber. She knew what was going to happen when she did, and she wasn't ready for it in the slightest.

_Either, my dream Regina won't remember a thing and I'll go on like everything is normal. Or, my mind will torture me even further by baiting me with more of these pointless teases._

The night was dwindling down. 10:00 became 10:47 and so on. Regina and Emma were both fighting with their consciousness, both staring into blank space.

Emma didn't know what to feel. She couldn't decide if disappointment was how she could explain it. It was something worse than disappointment. She had tricked  _herself_. She thought about this as she tried to keep her drooping eyelids from shutting.  _In a world I created all on my own, I allowed myself to fall into something that has only caused me pain. Why? Why on Earth would I do this? Is it that I_ wanted _Regina to see me that vulnerable?_  Emma rolled to her side; her blonde locks falling partially over her face.  _Every attempt I've made at getting closer to her when my eyes were open was a complete failure. I really thought that maybe… maybe she felt the same way._  That's what Emma needed most when she challenged Regina last night. She wanted validation, confirmation, that she wasn't crazy. That she wasn't just imagining Regina's playful smirk and kinder demeanor. She wanted it to mean something beyond just what her own fantasies led her to believe.

Sleep pulled at Emma's eyes and her mind, prodding her with the alluring promise of rest.

Regina kicked her covers off of her body, noticing that they were far too comfortable. For a moment, she considered going to Henry and asking him if he needed anything. It would be a distraction. She quickly talked herself out of it because waking her son from his own curse-less sleep was not the proper way to avoid this problem. Besides, Henry was already catching onto his mother's recent behavior- the deeper conversations and the further curiosity about his book and therapy sessions. Regina felt more compelled to learn the extent of Henry's knowledge about the curse. Every day she found it harder and harder to listen to Henry's affirmations and predictions about his stories. Most were correct, and that threatened Regina. She could sense the walls closing around her. Before she opened her trigger-happy mouth last night, it was all fine. Henry's stories and theories were still child's play. But if she had knocked on Emma's door tonight, there would be an immediate shift into reality and all of her lies and all of her ill-made choices would have swallowed her up. Then there would be nothing left of Regina Mills.

….

Emma gazed around the room she landed in with dead and disconnected eyes. The walls were black and the only light was coming from a single lantern on the floor. She watched the flame flicker behind its glass shell. Emma didn't know how much time she had before Regina appeared. Emma's belief that she would find Regina in her dreams never wavered. Tonight, though, she wanted nothing more than to sit cross-legged on this floor alone.

After a little while of mesmerizing in the dancing flame, Emma felt someone moving behind her.

Without a word, Regina sat next to Emma, crossing her legs as well.

Emma refused to look at the woman beside her. The warm light from the lantern bounced around the women's faces, highlighting their downcast eyes.

"You didn't come." Emma finally said. It was just under breath, barely loud enough to hear.

"I know." Regina replied softly.

"What am I supposed to do?" Emma asked, her eyes still locked on the flame.

Regina inhaled and then exhaled deeply, letting her shoulders slump. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what am I supposed to do? I obviously can't believe you."

"That's not true." Regina countered in a defeated tone. She barely believed herself.

Every silence they had shared before was nothing like this one. Regina's trepidation was evident in her voice, as if whatever she said was pointless. Emma rolled her eyes then focused them back on the flame. She had yet to see Regina's face. The quietness was like an unwelcome visitor. It hung around for way too long.

The women traded off parting their lips slightly to say something, then just shutting them again. Neither had words for what had just happened.

Emma wanted to will Regina away, but no matter how hard she tried the brunette was still sitting next to her, sharing the same heat from the lantern.  _This is my dream. I should be able to get rid of her._  Emma fought between the desire to erase Regina Mills and the pure desperation to slide her hand to the side just a few more inches and touch her.

Without any warning, Regina stood up. That was the first time Emma saw her. Her mouth was slightly agape at the view of Regina standing there with the light flickering over her form, catching the most delicious angles and curves of her body.

Regina stared down at Emma. She appreciated the parallel. They were in the same place weeks ago. Regina had had her hand held to the sky as terrors of lighting ripped through the ground. But now, Regina wielded no super power. She declared no war. She was just Regina. Emma stared up at her with a clenched jaw and eyes whose reflection danced with the light.

"You're beautiful." Regina blurted. Both women leaned away from each other at that. Regina tried to shift her gaze elsewhere. She inattentively bit her lower lip.

"Don't." Emma scowled. "Don't do that to me."

"I'm sorry, Emma." Regina responded, crossing her arms over her chest awkwardly. Regina was internally screaming.  _Just stop, just stop, right now! Wake up, shift the setting, do_ something _to distract from what you just did!_

"You don't get to say things like that to me. Not after last night." Emma responded stoically, trying desperately not to look back up at Regina. "Not after you didn't knock on my door."

Regina stepped back turning her back to the flame. Emma felt her walking around behind her. Regina paced uncomfortably, staring at the dark floor below her. Emma's ears picked up every click of her heels as individual bombs dropping.

"You don't understand." Regina finally settled on saying. Emma still refused to look at her. "I couldn't do it." The defeated tone in Regina's voice softened Emma's resolve.

Slowly, the younger woman turned her shoulders to face Regina. Regina stopped clicking on the floor when Emma settled to look at her.

"Why am I doing this to myself?" Emma asked, her eyebrows dropping in a way that could only illustrate pure misery. Regina's brows fell as well. "I'm letting this happen. I'm diluting myself into believing that you're here. I've already proved to myself that all of this is a dream yet I keep bringing you back here. I keep putting myself into a position of believing. I'm believing my own deceptions."

Regina nodded, her arms still crossed. "If you knew my reasons behind this…" She started then decided to pull back. "… You wouldn't even understand if you knew."

"What's all of this shit with, I 'won't understand'?" Emma replied with annoyance dripping from her lips.

"If I had been at your door, if I had proven you wrong, then my whole life would change." Regina stepped further back, burning under Emma's glare.

Emma slowly stood up; her gaze fastened on Regina's the whole time.

"Isn't that what you want?"

Both women let this line hang in the air. It held so much weight that it should have dropped straight to the floor with an earthshattering crash.

"Excuse me?" Regina finally responded, her eyebrow raised.

"Isn't that what you  _want_? A change?" Emma clarified even though they both knew that Regina understood perfectly well the first time.

"This would be a change that I'm not willing to make." Regina countered, trying to compose her own feelings of dread.

"Why?" Emma asked, stepping closer to Regina. Regina felt it again, the tug in her lower stomach. "Are you afraid of me, Regina?" The words tickled Emma's lips as they dribbled out.

"That's absurd. My feelings towards you have nothing to do with my decision." Regina held fast to her resistance. Her hands ached at the possibility of taking Emma's hips. Her proximity would allow for that and much more.

"Then tell me." Emma tilted her head to the side. "What are your feelings towards me?"

"I think you know by now." Regina croaked out, noticing that her and Emma were now sharing the same breathing air.

"I want to hear you say it." It wasn't a demand by any means. The way the words came out of Emma, Regina was sure that she didn't hear it right.

"What?"

"I want," Emma tried again, this time having a little less self-assurance. "To hear you tell me how you feel."

Regina looked down, her forehead coming close to touching Emma's shoulder. "I feel, like I've made a huge misstep. Emma, I can't meet you here like this anymore." She let her eyes fall closed as she felt Emma's body stepping away from hers and leaving a cold chill in its wake.

"Then leave." Emma said coldly. "If you are really here like you said, then you should be able to come and go as you please."

"It doesn't work that way-"

"Then how does it work, Regina?!" Emma shouted back, startling Regina. The older woman took a step back, her eyes widening. "Tell me, Regina! Because right now, I'm standing here, trying to give you everything that I know you want!" Emma spun around, twisting a hand in her hair and tugging at it anxiously. She turned right back to Regina, ready for her next blow. "I've opened myself up. I'm a fucking novel on chapter thirty-six for you! You saw things that I haven't let myself visit since my childhood. So, you know what? I don't think  _you_ understand, Regina. You are the one who doesn't understand anything."

Regina wasn't about to stand there and take that. "I don't know if you know this,  _Miss. Swan_ , but you invaded my own personal boundaries that night, too. I was a child again. Don't you think it was hard for me to wake up and remember vividly what my life was like before it was torn from me?!"

"Enough with this,  _Miss. Swan_  shit, Regina. You  _broke_ me." Emma's eyes were misting now and Regina was keeping herself held together with a single thread. "You, you  _broke_ me." That was the only word Emma could use to describe it. "This," Emma motioned between them. "This is killing me. So you know what?  _I_  can't meet _you_  here like this anymore either."

They stood in silence. Neither of them had noticed until then, that the fire behind Emma had grown six times its size. Emma whipped around to see the flames fuming up to heights almost as tall as she was. A particularly violent flare lashed from the body of the fire. Emma felt Regina's strong hand pull her back aggressively. She barely missed the burning flame.

"Watch out!" Regina shouted as she reached out and found Emma's arm. They stumbled further away from the ever-growing fire. It thrashed and raised with overwhelming aggression.

Emma looked at Regina with panic etched in her features. Regina wore the same ones as she tried to think of a way to get them out of that room.

"Emma," Regina said, her breathing short and flustered. The room seemed like it was getting smaller and the air felt like it was beginning to boil. "Emma! You need to listen to me. You need to transport us!"

Emma's eyes widened. "Transport us?! How the hell am I supposed to do that?!"

"You did it the first time!" Regina closed her eyes. Their backs were now against the wall and if she reached out her hand it would be singed within moments. "When we were at the pond, you changed where we were. You can do it again!"

"Okay." Emma's face was burning against the heat. Her body was shaking, her head spinning.

"Emma, focus!" Regina shouted. The flames were now huddled at nipping violently at their feet.

"I'm trying!" Emma's eyes clenched closed. She tilted her head back. Regina shot a gaze towards her, taking in her strained and exposed neck. Her veins were popping and her body was arching against the wall.

Regina reached out to Emma, taking the other woman's hand forcefully in her own. Emma's grip was so tight that and it made Regina wince in pain. Just then, where their hands met a blinding spark erupted. The light grew brighter and more vibrant at a rate higher than that of the blazing fire.

Emma's whole body jerked as if she had been stopped forcefully during intense centrifugal motion. All she felt was Regina's hand in her own, pulling her closer.

The blistering fire was gone. It was replaced with the jarring sensation of wind blowing fiercely around them. It wasn't until Emma opened her eyes that she noticed that they were falling.

"Regina?! What's happening?!" Emma shouted over the deafening whoosh of the air around them as they plummeted to an uncertain earth.

"I don't know!" She cried back, tightening her grip on the other woman. Regina looked down and as the clouds parted below her she saw an expansive blue ocean. The water was clear and terrifying as all hell. "Brace yourself!" Regina shouted and just as she did, Emma buried her face in her shoulder and intensified her clutch on the older woman.

Regina took one last intake of oxygen before they vehemently submerged into the deep.


	9. Oxygen

The force in which they penetrated the ocean's surface caused them to break apart on impact. Emma was pulled violently from Regina's chest as they both sunk into the water.

Emma immediately started paddling to the surface. Her lungs were burning and she was sure she wouldn't be able to make it to the top. She kicked with all of her force until she broke the surface. She frantically inhaled oxygen as she treaded in circles to look for Regina. All of the blood in her face drained when she didn't see Regina emerge.

Suddenly Emma dove back into the water. This time it felt as though she could breath without oxygen. Her lungs felt unnecessary as she swam deeper and deeper into the clear ocean. She could see coral and tropical fish down below.

She scanned the area for Regina but found nothing. She hurried back up to the surface and when she finally touched air, she began to cry. Her chest heaved and she panicked, still spinning around in ocean that met a never-ending horizon. Just as she was about to drown from flailing around so much, she heard the distinct sound of paddles whipping through placid waters. She spun around to see Regina, in a wooden dingy, pushing through the water towards her. Emma watched with relieved eyes as Regina pulled up next to her.

"Grab my hand," Regina ordered as she reached her hand out to Emma. She took it immediately and helped pull herself into the tiny vessel. Once safely on the boat, Emma collapsed into the seat behind Regina and let her arms hang off the sides.

"Thank you," Emma choked out between coughs.

Regina nodded as she began to paddle again. Emma watched as her strong arms governed the oars and bent the ocean's water to her whim.

"Nice choice," Regina tossed out sarcastically when the silence began to bore her.

"Huh?" Emma furrowed her eyebrows.

"Where you picked to transport us." Regina clarified. The boat was skimming smoothly through the water, leaving a path of disturbed waves behind it.

"Hey, half of this was you." Emma retorted as she began wringing out her hair. She winced slightly as she felt the tugging against her scalp.

Regina lifted an eyebrow. "Oh really? Is that so?" She enjoyed the way Emma's eyes grazed over her body as she continued to push the oars through the ocean. She didn't even know where she was paddling them.

"When you," Emma stopped and looked cautiously as Regina-  _as if she doesn't know_. "… grabbed my hand. You helped us get out of there."

Regina nodded her head as she pulled the oars back. "I suppose I did." Emma cast her a curious look.

"How do you remember what happened at the pond the first time?" Emma asked, making Regina return her inquisitive stare. "How do your remember that I landed us in a desert?"

"I remembered because I was there." Regina answered without any instability in her voice.

Emma nodded as she began pulling at her shirt to wring it out. "I can man the oars if you want to dry…" She looked down Regina's soaked body. Both of the women's clothes were stuck to their bodies and their hair was absolutely drenched.

"No, I'll be fine for now." They shared an awkward silence as they had enough time to remember what they were doing just before this happened.

"Where did you get the dingy?" Emma asked. Regina snapped her head up and smirked.

"That's what you want to ask me, Miss. Swan?" Regina inquired with a smirk that filled her eyes.

"Stop," Emma rolled her eyes at Regina's predatorily flirtatious maneuvers. Emma couldn't trick herself into thinking that his is real, not again. And hadn't they just been screaming at each other a little while ago?

"What, you don't want to berate me with questions about my integrity?" Somehow the words didn't sound aggressive coming out of Regina's mouth. Emma tilted her head to the side and sighed.

"Well, I wouldn't have to do that if you had just followed my directions." Emma's retort didn't dig either, which left Regina wondering if they were even fighting at all.

Another pause led the two to fall into a comfortable presence. Regina eyed Emma on the other side of the boat, still pulling at the clothes that were just sticking flush against her skin. She watched the woman interestedly.

"How did you do it?" Regina asked in an almost airy voice.

Emma looked up at her. "Excuse me?" She replied, honestly perplexed at what she could possibly be asking.

"That night, during your dream at the home." Regina answered. "How did you… turn us into  _children_?"

Emma sat on this for a few moments because she really didn't know the answer herself. "I just remember wanting a friend." She finally decided on saying that. It was the most truthful and at this point she couldn't find any reason to lie to Regina, especially if she was  _just_  going to wake up the next morning feeling even more stupid than the many mornings prior.

"I see." Regina replied, stopping her rowing and letting the oars rest on the sides of the boat. It made sense to Regina that Emma's desire to have friendship resulted in her becoming the friend Emma wanted. But at what cost? Regina was able to be young and somewhat happy again for just a few moments. It felt like a horrible tease.

"I'm sorry," Emma mumbled when she saw Regina's face falling and her eyebrows furrowing into contemplation. "I didn't know that you felt that way about your childhood."

"Well," Regina inhaled deeply before turning her attention to a fish that bobbed out of the water nearby. "Now you do, I suppose." Emma nodded and bit her lip.

"Was it magic?"

Regina's head snapped back to Emma. "What?"

" _Was_  it magic?" Emma asked, this time more resilient in getting her answer.

"Was what magic?" Regina didn't know how long she could play this card, or even for how long it would be useful.

"When I changed us." Emma affirmed. "Did I use magic in that dream?"

Regina gulped. "It's a dream, Miss. Swan. You can call it anything you want."

Emma raised her eyebrows, not incredibly satisfied with that answer. "So what you're saying is, that I can do anything? I have complete control?"

This comment made Regina jerk back slightly in her seat.  _So this whole time she didn't know?_  "You have as much control as you want, it's your dream."

"Stop speaking in riddles. I want to know what I have control over and what I don't." Emma's stubbornness was showing and Regina couldn't help but admire it. That type of fortitude was the only way to get something in this life.

Regina sighed and let her shoulders relax. There didn't seem to be a point any more in keeping the truth from Emma when they were in this situation.

"I've already told you, Emma. You and I are in here together. And as for the control thing goes, you can basically influence anything."

This intrigued the younger woman. Regina immediately regretted saying that when Emma's eyes scanned her body. For a moment Regina felt a tugging desire to move closer to Emma. A light grin appeared on the blonde's face before looking away. Regina took in a sharp inhale before looking away as well.

Emma sat back further in the boat and cast her gaze upwards to the sky. The sky seemed to have changed drastically since they arrived in this never-ending sea. A warm amber color was now filling up the sky with a euphoric presence that made Emma swell with happiness. Pinks and oranges began to paint the sky and in turn the reflection off the water.

"You did this," Emma hummed after she closed her eyes in bliss. This time there was no accusatory tone in her voice; it was more appreciative than anything. Regina could only assume she was the one being addressed.

"I'm not quite sure if this was me." Regina replied as she looked up to the sky as well. "You always painted the more beautiful pictures."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, her eyes still closed.

Regina inhaled the sweet air deeply before answering. "You know; the dreams on the beaches, in the metropolis with the city scape, right  _now_. They're all examples."

"I bet you could do the same if you really wanted." Emma replied, her voice soft. She began to run her hands down the smooth wood of the boat's interior arc. Her eyes remained closed, basking in the temperate air.

Regina was about to respond when she let her gaze catch on a particularly shiny dot in the water about three yards away from them. Regina leaned over the side of the boat to get a better look at it. Squinting against the glare of the sun, the object finally came into view. The blood seemed to drain from Regina's face when she realized exactly what it was.

In front of her laying on the surface of the water bobbed an empty glass vial.

….

That morning Regina woke up with a powerful nagging in her chest. It felt as though she had been holding her breath for hours. She sat up and looked around her room. The morning sunlight was streaming in through her balcony window. It practically blinded her. She hissed at the glare and fell back on her bed, huffing out large exhale of breath.

 _What the hell was that?_  Regina kicked the covers further down her legs until they bunched up around her ankles.

The empty vial wasn't something Regina planned nor something she wanted. Wasn't it bad enough that her choice to enchant Emma had taken over her daytime life? Did it have to come into her dreams as well? Regina turned on her side and reached out her hand to pull her bedside clock to view. It was 8:00 am. Regina hissed a quiet " _Shit_."

She shot up from the bed and made her way to her bathroom. There was a town board meeting scheduled for 8:30. Regina quickly pulled her nightgown over her head and turned on the hot water in her shower. She let the silk gown pool at the floor as she stuck her hand out to test the water.

 _Today is_ not _the day for this_. She grumbled to herself as she stepped into the steaming glass cube.

….

Emma Swan practically murdered her alarm clock that morning. She pulled it out from it's wall socket and threw it down on the ground next to her bed. She was sure that she had probably woken Mary Margaret up but she couldn't find it in herself to care as she normally would.

Pulling herself up from bed, she felt an odd pain erupting from her chest cavity. It felt similar to shortness of breath, though she was breathing just fine. She tried to ignore it as she began to get dressed.

Emma's fingers trembled as she clipped her sheriff badge to her belt. She knew that she would have to make an appearance at this meeting but she wasn't so sure she could. Each night that the mayor invaded her dreams felt like just another crushing blow when she woke up. She always woke up alone.

….

"Would anyone from the public safety committee like to speak while we are still on the subject of a more adaptive storm watch?" Regina asked the long table of people in front of her. Among them were various town folk who insisted on being at these meetings as well as the heads of town's numerous committees. Today though, to everyone's surprise, Mr. Gold had shown up.

He sat at the far end of the table. He knew that Regina had seen him come in because she sent him a warning glare. He watched with curious eyes as Sheriff Swan took her seat adjacent to Regina.

Regina, seated at the head of the long table, had cleared her throat when Emma sat down so near to her. Emma had tried not to notice and instead attempted to focus on whatever the mayor was talking about.

"No?" Regina asked the group again. They all gave her blank stares so she nodded. "Alright then," She looked down at the pile of papers in front of her. Surely they would provide a distraction from the blonde barely a few feet away from her. "Next order. We need to come up with a better way to regulate the bus route in the afternoons. The streets become log jammed near the school at that time and it's just a disaster."

Emma looked on with mild interest as people began fetching out ideas to solve this rather trivial problem. She couldn't help but feel like the mayor was trying to fill time.

Mr. Gold sat quietly, running his fingers over the handle of his cane. He watched as Regina comported herself in a professional fashion. Only he noticed that every now and then she would flash a hesitant look at Emma, as if she was afraid of what the Sheriff might do or say.

The hour rolled by agonizingly slow and all Emma could think about was the way Regina's suit hugged the curve her upper body so well. She tried not to stare, though. Another part of her didn't want to look. She was only feeding into her own doom by further allowing herself to feel something for the mayor who sat icy on her thrown.

"Well, thank you all for coming." Regina said when the clock struck 9:30. People began to file out of the room. Regina watched as they left, still seated. Emma couldn't help but notice that she resembled a queen looking out at her underlings. She stayed back, carefully disguising it as helping to clean up. Oddly, Regina didn't say or do anything to stop her.

Regina half expected Mr. Gold to stay. She couldn't imagine that the man didn't want to rub her nose in the fact that the potion had most certainly taken its toll. Though she didn't complain when she watched him leave with the rest of them. The rest except for Sheriff Swan.  _Of course._  Regina thought as she organized the papers in front of her in a tidy pile.

Regina's eyes followed Emma as she picked up coffee cups and wrappers from morning donuts. Emma's nerves lit on fire when she realized that they were now alone. She had to resist turning around when she heard the specific click of Regina's heels coming towards her.

"You were late today, Sheriff." Regina said when she stopped moving. She crossed her arms over her chest. Slowly, Emma spun around to look at her.

"I'm sorry." Emma responded with a light heart. She really didn't care at all.

Regina tilted her head to look at the blonde standing before her. It didn't look as though she had woken up in the smoothest of ways either.

"Sleeping alright?" Regina internally winced after she said it. Emma felt her breath get caught in her throat for a moment before answering.

"Yes," Emma said, slightly shaky. "And you, mayor?"

Regina held her gaze for a few seconds too long. "Yes, I am. Thank you." She noticed how the younger woman looked nearly flabbergasted as she nodded gently back at the mayor. Regina didn't know why she did that. It was no longer in her immediate interest to upset Emma.

"How's Henry?"

Regina smiled lightly. "He's fine, Miss. Swan." Emma nodded.

"I'd like to see him, more I mean." Emma responded. Regina bowed her head for just a moment.

"What would you suggest we do?" Emma was taken aback by this. Since when did Regina make deals with her?

"I want to pick him up more regularly." Emma decided on. It was simple enough and not too outrageous for Regina to slap down immediately.

"Every Monday and Wednesday you can pick him up from school." Regina replied. Emma smiled.

"Thank you."

Quietness filled the air between them as they shared eye contact.

 _This is ridiculous._ Emma said to herself, filling the silence with her own thoughts.  _She's not who I was with last night. She's not who I will most likely see tonight. You need to understand, Emma._

Regina waited for Emma to say something. The room was so silent. When Emma finally nodded and turned to walk away, Regina wanted to reach out her hand to her but she kept her hand where it was and watched as the blonde's curls bounced on her back and out the door.

….

"Why were you there today, Mr. Gold? You hadn't seemed very interested in town affairs until now." Regina asked coyly as she walked into Mr. Gold's shop. The immediate smell of cleaning spray and old wood filled her senses.

Mr. Gold was standing behind the counter, polishing a pocket watch. He glanced up at Regina then down and the metal in his hands once more.

"I've always been interested in town politics, Madam Mayor." Regina rolled her eyes.

"No, you haven't. If you were there to enjoy misfortune then you can at least just come out and tell me."

"What misfortune, deary? It seems to me that you are the luckiest of all right now." Mr. Gold followed that with a light chuckle. Regina glared at him.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Mr. Gold let the pocket watch hang from its chain off his fingers as he spoke. "That you have been able to find something in these dreams you've been missing. I've seen it on your face, deary."

Regina's only response she could muster was, "That's absurd."

"Is it? Because what I saw told a different story."

Regina pressed her hands against the display case and her eyes danced over Mr. Gold's face. "And what story is that? Please, do tell."

"The potion doesn't choose just anyone. It chooses  _the_ one. And from what I saw at the town meeting today, deary, the potion chose correctly."

"You know that what you are saying makes no sense, right?" Regina snapped back. "I chose Emma for one reason and one reason only, to drive her out of town."

"And how is that working for you?" Mr. Gold asked without really needing the answer. Regina sneered at him. She let her head hang around her shoulders.

"Just," Regina began, knowing that she would regret it. "… just tell me how to break the spell."

"Well that's simple, deary. How do you break any spell?"

Regina's head snapped up to look at him. The realization dawned on her and she felt a tightening in her stomach. "True love's kiss."


	10. The Evil Queen

Regina walked back to her house in a huff. She received a few questioning gazes as she passed through the streets but she paid them no mind. It wasn't any of her concern if people wanted to speculate on what could have made their mayor so frazzled.

After closing her front door behind her, she quickly charged up her stairs. Henry wasn't home. She suspected he was at the playground or with Emma.

 _Miss. Swan._  Her mind hissed as she slammed the door to her bedroom closed. She began pacing around her room. She unbuttoned her blazer and pulled it off of herself, trying to rid herself of another thing weighing her down. She kicked off her shoes and fell onto her bed flat on her back. The mattress bounced with her weight and she stared up at the ceiling like she often found herself doing these days.

She ran a hand through her wind blown hair. She began unbuttoning her white blouse. It wasn't gentle; she practically ripped the buttons out of their stitching. When the shirt was off of her and in her hands she couldn't help but remember when she held her other shirt in her hand- the one Emma had borrowed so long ago. She remembered the way she had caressed the shirt, wishing that Emma had been wearing it in that moment and that she could glide her hands around her taught waist.

Frustration overwhelmed her and she hurled the shirt to the other side of her room. Regina used both hands to cover her face as she felt her body begin to shake.

Regina cursed herself. She hated that this is what her decision has lead to. She hated that Emma Swan had bested her. In her pursuit to forget about the sheriff, she was whom she was thinking most of. When Regina lifted her palms from her eyes they were misted with the tears she had let escape.

Quickly rubbing them away, Regina tried to regain some control of her body as she sat up.

 _There's only one way to make this stop._  Regina's eyes seemed to focus onto something in the distance. They grew darker and deeper as her breathing became shallow. Her hands shook as she clenched her bedding tighter in her fists.  _I can't see Emma in these dreams anymore._

….

Regina sat in cold anxiety as she waited for Henry to finish his dinner. Macaroni and Cheese. She could never understand why noodles swimming in cheese were so popular in this world.

She lifted her napkin to her lips. She had gone for a sensible pasta dish that night. Henry was too busy gobbling his food to start a conversation. It was a simple "Hi, Mom." when he came through the door an hour earlier and not much after that. Regina didn't mind though, she knew by the look in Henry's eye that he was growing to like the time they spent together.

"I'm going to be out tonight, again, Henry." Regina said. Henry looked up at her from his bowl.

"Where?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Actually," Regina inhaled deeply. "I need to talk with Miss. Swan." Henry's eyes lit up and a smile engulfed his face.

"Really? What about?" He was incredibly interested in whatever it could be.

Regina set down her fork and smoothed her hands over her deep navy sweater. "I just need to talk to her about some things that have been happening lately."

Henry looked perplexed and Regina began to regret telling him where she was leaving to.

"Sheriff business?" Henry tried. Regina smiled softly at him.

"Something like that." She answered. "Now finish quick if you want to have time for another story from your book."

Henry smiled shyly. "You know, you don't have to read those to me."

"I know," Regina answered. "I like to."

….

Pulling her coat tightly around her waist, Regina slipped out of her Benz. With confident steps that did not mirror her internally, she walked to the front door of apartment building. Putting her hand to the door handle made it all too real for her. She twisted it and let herself in.

Careful steps and clear clicks lead her up the stairs to Emma's door. The hallway was quiet and Regina could hear her own slightly labored breathing. She felt her heart clench for a moment in her rib cage before she lifted her knuckles up the door.

Three knocks and Regina waited. She heard shuffling from the other side of the door, but no voices. She couldn't decide if this was in her favor or not.

Emma felt as though they had switched roles. This time it was Regina who was standing outside of  _her_  door wearing an expression that mixed hesitation and desire. Her eyebrows furrowed, then her heart jolted. She wondered if Regina knew it was eight o'clock.

"Regina?" Emma croaked out as she took in the sight of Regina standing before her. She looked almost raw. Her eyes looked tired, as if they had been crying.

"Miss. Swan, I think we need to talk." Regina was surprised that she didn't stumble over any of the words. She was sure that her voice was going to waver, but it remained smooth and purposeful.

"Okay," Emma nodded with curious eyes before stepping out of the way and letting Regina enter her threshold. She closed the door and turned around. Trying not to notice Regina's neckline in that sweater, Emma pressed on to the kitchen.

"Would you like something to drink? Mary Margaret's out but she just bought some tea. I could-" Emma cut herself off. It was then that realized her legs were shaking just slightly. Regina Mills was feet away from her, watching her under diligent and haunting eyes. She felt a shiver go down her back when Regina took a step closer.

Regina's nerves were on livewire as she moved closer to Emma. She couldn't decide if this was a test for her to pass or purely internal. Either way, she needed to be closer to the blonde standing before her in her white long sleeve and skinny jeans. Another step and Regina could reach out and touch Emma easily. Everything was telling her to stop, that this wouldn't resolve anything, just make it worse. There was barely a foot of distance between them and Emma was looking at her in a way that made her feel as though they weren't really there. As if they were in a dream.

"What did you want to talk about, Regina?" There was no mistaking the shudder in Emma's voice. Regina swallowed the pride that that gave her.

Lifting her hand to Emma's cheek, Regina was shocked that Emma didn't pull away. Both women seemed to be in a trance that neither knew their way out of. Regina's hand was so soft on Emma's skin. Regina's eyes danced around Emma's almost shocked expression.

"I'm so sorry." Regina couldn't believe that those words slipped out of mouth.  _I didn't come here to apologize, I came here to…_  Just then, Regina saw that her purpose for coming here was something much different. For the first time in what felt like forever, she began to let herself give in to what she wanted in the moment. Slowly, she moved her thumb to glide over Emma's lower lip. It was soft and plump, the way Regina had always imagined it would be. Feeling it under her own skin sent shocks of desire through her.

Emma closed her eyes, feeling overwhelmed to the point that she couldn't even look at the brunette standing only inches away from her now. She began to feel herself aching, needing Regina to touch her. She needed Regina's lips to be where her thumb was. She needed Regina to swallow her whole. It was all too much. Regina, the woman she had been dreaming of for weeks was now caressing her and saying soft words to her. She needed to fall in. She needed to let Regina take everything from her. But she couldn't. She  _wouldn't_ \- not without her answers.

"Regina," Emma almost whimpered as she stepped back out of Regina's touch. Their eyes locked and for the first time Emma didn't see a challenge in them. "What are you sorry for?" She begged. Regina's face fell and Emma swore that the tears were not far behind.

"I used you." Regina finally said. She felt so defeated. Seeing this woman before her reduced to this pained appearance, made her feel no victory. "I used you for something awful, Emma. And I'm so sorry."

Emma battled within herself. She knew she couldn't attribute whatever was going on to the dreams she's been having, but that didn't stop her from desperately wanting them to be linked.

"What is this about?" Emma challenged, practically pleading for a release from her own internal torture. Regina let her hand fall to her side and she looked down at the floor for a moment. She had reached out and failed. It wasn't the first time.

"You know what this is about." Regina responded solemnly. Without another word, Regina turned around and began making her way to the door. Emma stood there in stunned silence as she watched Regina leave her once again.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to force Regina to come back and invade her space again. She wanted her answers, but she stood there with her feet cemented to the ground.

When Emma heard the door click closed, she slammed her fist against the table in frustration and her eyes begin to sting with fresh tears.

….

Regina had made it home before she started crying into her steering wheel. She had crossed the line. No. She tore through it. Deep and painfully sobs eradiated from her throat. She was almost worried that a neighbor might hear.

 _What the hell was that?!_  She screamed at herself.  _If Emma finds out then everything,_ everything, _will be gone. Why, why, in that_ one  _moment, was I willing to destroy all of it? Just to touch her…_  Regina shook her head, feeling the tears slide down her cheeks. What hurt more than the realization that she had put her whole plan in danger was the fact that part of her didn't even care. When she raised her hand to rest upon Emma's supple skin Regina knew that it was what she had been waiting for.

Every shared silence while in their dreams, every time Emma had snapped back at her with an adorably witty remark, every time Regina had seen the pure joy in Emma's face- they all lead Regina to where she was now- questioning everything she had worked for. When she had touched Emma's lips with merely her thumb she was reminded of the short but powerful fire that erupted inside of her the time Emma had brushed their lips together in that dream. It was so quick that it Regina didn't think it could be called a kiss. All the same, it made her shiver whenever she thought about it.

After she had whipped the tears from her eyes and steadied her breathing, she got out of her car. Her house was dark and cold. She walked up the stairs and approached Henry's bedroom with quiet interest. The door to his room was wedged open slightly. Regina rested her body against the frame as she carefully pushed the door open just far enough to see her son sleeping.

His small body raised and lowered with each calmed breath. Regina tipped her head to the side and let out a melancholy smile. For some reason, he still felt far away from her. After standing there for a few more moments, she backed up into the hallway and silently closed his door.

She wrung out her hands nervously as she walked to her own bedroom. She knew what she would find in there and she didn't want to face it. She didn't think she could spend another night with Emma. It hurt too much to know that she could do anything and saying anything to her in that world that played by no rules. The freedom scared her. And now, more than ever, Regina knew that she wouldn't be able to stop herself from making the worst mistake. She had almost made it tonight in Emma's apartment. Her heart ached just thinking about the look on Emma's face when she finally touched her. It killed her to know that she had such an intoxicating effect on the other woman. She noticed when Emma so slightly leaned further into her touch. At this point she was dragging her along and for the first time in Regina's life, having that kind of power over someone else wasn't arousing or satisfying- it was heartbreaking.

….

When Emma went to sleep that night, it was with a heavy conscious and sweaty palms. She knew Regina would be there but even more than that, she knew Regina would  _know_  everything that had happened. For the first time, Emma allowed herself to believe her own dream's wanderings. She knew that Regina would be in her dream tonight, but this time, it would be different.

….

A vast open field. Emma, sitting in her long white dress, picked at the flowers that were growing all around her. Every one she could imagine, literally. She waited patiently for Regina, only glancing up every now and then to see if she had materialized before her. But she didn't appear.

Emma squinted into the lowering sun, forcing herself not to panic. Regina would show. She always did.

When Regina finally did materialize, she arrived in a long blue dress next to a tall weeping willow just a few yards away. Her dress was light and it danced at her ankles to the beat of the breeze. She looked serene in the moments before she saw Emma.

When their eyes met, Emma stood up. Neither took a step forward. They both watched each other, wondering who would be so bold as to make the first move. To both of their surprises, it was Emma.

"So, it's true." Emma said softly. Her hair pounced in the wind around her face. Regina pulled her shoulders back in a desperate attempt to appear strong.

Regina nodded, never losing eye contact with blonde before her. The sun was setting on the field and the fireflies were beginning to appear.

Emma bit her bottom lip, afraid to say anything more.

"I can make it stop." Regina said suddenly. Emma's eyes widened at the proposition. "I can… make this go away." Regina clarified. Emma took two defining steps forward.

"What if I don't want it to?" Emma's voice was shaking again.

"Emma," Regina began, as slowly and gently as she could. Her own voice was beginning to waver and she felt as though her chest might implode. "You're under a curse." She stopped, closed her eyes, and waited for a reaction. When none came, she continued. "Whatever you're feeling, whatever you think this is- it isn't by your own doing."

Emma, taking another step closer, focused her eyes on Regina's. Regina was almost taken aback by the fiery challenge in the younger woman's expression.

"Today, you came to my home. You almost kissed me." Emma responded carefully. "You can't tell me that was I was imagining that."

"You weren't." Regina stated, trying to regain some ground. "But your motives are different than my own."

"And what are your motives, Ms. Mills?" At this point, Emma was in her personal space again. Regina's breath hitched in her chest.

"You know full well by now." Regina responded.

"No, no more of that." Emma demanded. She reached her hand up to cup Regina's face. She pulled her slightly closer until she felt that could see Regina's soul through her dark brown orbs. "I need you to tell me for real. I need you to say how you feel for once!"

"Do you want to know how I feel?!" Regina's voice boomed, causing Emma to step back and pull away her hand. "I'm angry! I'm so angry, Emma, because my only reason for starting this mess has become the one thing I never want to happen."

"And what is that?" Emma asked, trying to pull from Regina what she has been waiting for all of this time.

"You to leave." Regina finally released it. It hung in the air like the fireflies buzzing around and Emma's face showed only a glimpse of confusion.

"You don't want me to go, do you?" Emma couldn't even smirk. She felt too heavy. She needed Regina's face in her hand once more.

"No," Regina's eyes had started to dispel only a few tears. "But this, I can't do this."

"Why?" Emma begged. "Because you're afraid of this? Because you're afraid of your own happiness?"

"Everything that has given me joy has only caused me pain."

Emma looked down, not knowing how to respond.

"And you," Regina's voice was trembling now. "You don't want this anyway."

Returning to her spot right in front of the mayor, Emma took her hand in her own. "Does it look like I don't?"

"Emma, you don't understand." Regina pleaded. "Everything that has happened, I caused it, with… magic."

Emma's eyebrows furrowed with this word.  _Magic_.

"You only feel this way because of the position  _I_ put you in. I can't," Regina shook her head. "I can't…"

Regina was shocked when she felt Emma's body push her up against the trunk of the weeping willow behind them. She inhaled a sharp breath when her back hit the bark.

"Magic?" Emma practically squeaked. "You mean… all that Henry has said, it's all true? You really are…" Emma's eyes glided frantically over Regina's pained features.

"Yes," Regina's stare pierced into Emma's, leaving no trace of doubt in her words. "The Evil Queen."


	11. Drawing Parallels

Emma felt her heart sink in her chest. The blood drained from her limbs, causing her to let go of Regina. The other woman slumped against the tree and shut her eyes tight. Emma's eyes shifted crazily over Regina. She didn't step back though, she was still as close as she was when she pressed the woman against the trunk.

"How?" Emma questioned. Regina opened her eyes to look at the woman before her. She knew exactly what Emma was asking. She dry swallowed before answering.

The fireflies danced around them, lighting up spots on their faces, illuminating smooth skin.

"A potion. I gave you a potion." Regina's eyes were misting at the determined look on Emma's face.

"Wake up." Emma commanded. Regina's eyebrows furrowed.

"What?" She asked breathlessly.

"Wake up, now. I will too." Emma assured her as she began walking away.

"But…" Regina couldn't align her thoughts into coherent words.

"No!" Emma's voice rattled something within Regina, making her almost recoil. "No," Emma repeated a little softer this time. She ran a hand through her hair contemplatively. "I'm not continuing this discussion here."

Regina felt Emma's determination through her gaze and she knew that this was no longer something that she could avoid. "Then what do you suggest?"

"I want to see you. Tonight." Emma inhaled deeply. They both stood in a heavy silence for a few moments before Regina finally responded.

"My window," She croaked. "Come in through my window on the second floor. And I swear to God, if you wake up Henry…"

Emma nodded. "I'll be quiet."

"Okay," Regina agreed with a heavy heart.

"And Regina," Emma's eyes were pleading. "Don't leave me to question this again. I can't keep fighting with myself over this." The seriousness in her eyes almost frightened Regina. It was clear to her that Emma had been more than tortured by what she had done. Regina would never forgive herself for that.

Regina's throat was dry.

"I promise I won't."

Regina's eyes followed Emma as she backed away further and tipped her head up to the night sky and reached her hands out to hold the cool air in her palms.. In that moment, with her white dress flailing gently against her form, Emma felt every bit as free as she every had. Regina could see everything that Emma wanted her to see when they were awake. Regina understood then that Emma's beauty in the real world surpassed anything that she could imagine.

Emma's eyes were closed tightly as she concentrated deeply and Regina watched in near amazement as she disappeared before her. She decided that Emma must be gaining a clearer understanding of how to control these dreams.

Once Regina watched Emma leave completely, she began to wake herself as well, just as she had promised.

….

Emma shot up in bed with her heart racing. She pressed her hand to her chest and felt the organ inside beating far too fast.

Blindly, she climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans. There was still a logical voice in the back of her mind screaming at her that this wasn't real, and that if she showed up at Regina's house nothing good could happen. She decided for the first time, to shut that voice up. Too many signs pointed to this being real. And Henry's book? If all of that was really factual than literally  _anything_  was possible.

She pulled a black tank top over her herself, not bothering run a brush through her hair.

Slipping on her boots and tugging her jacket over her shoulders, Emma made her way out her front door. She tried not to make too much noise as to not wake Mary Margaret.

Adrenaline coursed through her blood as she drove through the sleepy town of Storybrooke. She passed through every red light and stop sign, knowing for a fact that no one was out this time of night. The deep blue night sky was filled with stars and all Emma could think about what how many times she had met Regina under stars very similar to those. A sweeping sense of dread and anxiety flowed through her when she finally parked outside of Regina's mansion. The pillars seemed taller and the windows seemed wider and all Emma's could think about was how she was going to climb.

….

After Regina had collected herself enough from waking up so suddenly, she immediately got out of bed and walked to her mirror. She could see herself visibly shaking. Her skin was dipped in the moonlight coming through her window. All she could think about was the fact that Emma Swan would be coming through it within minutes. Once she did, all of this would be over. She would no longer be able to hind behind the veil of the lies she had told and the promises she didn't keep. There would be no turning back from that.

 _You've played your hand._  Regina said to herself as she stared into her eyes in the mirror.  _Now you must deal._

….

The way up the mayor's mansion was not a smooth one. All of Emma's body strength was being put to the test as she pulled and stepped along the side under Regina's window. She couldn't help but feel like one of those fairy tale heroes that saves Rapunzel from the largest tower. Then she chuckled to herself, realizing just how fitting that parallel may be.

She grabbed onto handholds and pushed herself up when her foot caught onto a dependable surface. She felt her body quivering slightly over the awkward angles and effort she had to put into scaling the side of he house. She wondered why in the world she had agreed to  _climb_  up to Regina's window. In the moment when Regina had said it, she didn't care. She would have agreed to almost anything that Regina could have demanded. That realization scared her as well.

….

Regina tried to force her heart rate to slow when she heard a bustling coming from outside her window. She knew who it was, and she knew what was about to happen. Nothing could prepare her now. When she heard the unmistakable almost labored breathing coming from the other side of her window, she pushed her shoulders back and pivoted her feet toward it.

Emma's hand was suddenly visible on the frame and Regina's breathing hitched. When she the blonde locks came into view and that ridiculous red jacket, she knew that she was in way capable of handling this is the put together way she had hoped.

….

Once Emma was standing in the threshold of Regina's room, neither women spoke. They took in the site of each other, afraid to do anything else.

Emma looked mentally exhausted. Regina's arms remained at her sides. Her hands clenched into fists four times. Emma knows; she counted.

Emma drank in the mayor. For the first time, she looked unsure and,  _scared_? Regina's lips twitched only slightly. Emma took a tentative step forward, noticing Regina's eyes gliding over her. Emma pursed her lips together, feeling herself melting under the other woman's gaze.

 _Silence is the only way now. How strange it is,_  Regina thought,  _that in our real lives we can become the least human_. What Emma did next would surely prove the mayor wrong.

The look in Regina's eyes made it all too clear to Emma that she  _wasn't_ crazy this whole time. Regina was real and standing before her and it wasn't the first time. An overwhelming urge conquered Emma's senses and she closed the distance between herself and Regina. A sharp gasp escaped the older woman's lips before Emma's lips were moving against them.

Emma's lips were not gentle or patient. They took over Regina's in a passionate display of pure raw lust and pent up adoration.

Regina's fingers tangled immediately in Emma's hair, deepening the kiss. She felt Emma's tongue slip past her lips and she immediately offered her own. Emma craved this. She had to have Regina invade her completely and for the first time she was allowing it to happen.

A fire erupted in Emma's chest as she pulled Regina even closer by the waist. They didn't need words in that moment. They  _needed_  the silence to be only penetrated by their gasps and subtle moans.

Regina whimpered as Emma's lips trailed from her lips to her ear. Aggressively pent up kisses were placed down her neck and she felt her knees buckling when Emma's hands began to wander.

" _Emma_ ," It came out more as a moan and Emma stopped at that first word shared. " _Emma,_ " Regina repeated, this time pushing away from the woman currently holding her. "Stop." Their lips broke apart and Regina immediately missed them.

Emma let her hand slide off of Regina as she stepped back. A look of pure confusion and regret swept over Emma's features.

The beauty of the moonlight glowing behind Emma's light hair made Regina's heart throb. She couldn't be responsible for any more of this woman's pain.

"We can't." Regina turned around, shaking out her hair anxiously as she tried to stabilize her breathing.

Emma threw her head back in frustration. "What are you doing to me?!" She couldn't help but shout. Regina looked back at Emma, eyes widened in shock and she quickly held a finger to her lips.

" _Henry!_ " She hissed. The thought that they were going to wake up her ten year old kept worrying her. How in the world would she explain this to him?

"Stop, just stop." Emma said softer, respecting Regina's wishes. Regina felt almost touched by this until Emma continued. "I get to be upset!" She whisper yelled. "This secret, you knew it all this time! You let me suffer! You let me…" Emma's breath hitched as she felt her throat getting choked up. "You let me fall for you."

Regina hung her head for a moment before raising it up to meet Emma's broken gaze.

"I was afraid." Regina finally admitted more to herself than to Emma. "Emma, I..." She couldn't find the words.

"And this, all of this!" Emma knew she wasn't making coherent sense at the moment but she didn't care. "You, you, put me under a spell? You… you're… you're…"

"Everything Henry says I am." Regina finished Emma's thought in a defeated tone.

"But if that's true then…" Regina watched as the realization of everything flushed over Emma. She could literally see when all of the gears had finished turning. Regina was incredibly shocked when Emma appeared calm. She had expected screaming. She had expected Emma to rip her apart for what she did to her and her family. But most of all, she was anticipating with dread that Emma would leave. None of these things happened. Instead, Emma stepped closer to her again. Regina watched as the conflicting emotions filled Emma's eyes.

She knew that Emma wanted to ask her about everything. She could see it in her stare that Emma was trying desperately to hold back the questions about herself and her family. But for some reason, Regina could also feel Emma holding back.

"I know you." Emma said. "I found out who you are. I fell in love, with you."

Regina's eyes misted at a rate that she couldn't control.

"You don't understand." She repeated for what felt like the millionth time. "Everything that you're feeling isn't real.  _I_ caused it. I can't let you fall into the trap I've set for so many others." Admitting this was something that made Regina feel like a demonic spirit was leaving her body. For the first time, she wasn't allowing herself to control someone. She couldn't do that to Emma because unlike the rest, she couldn't see Emma suffer any longer.

"Why do you think that you are the only one who had a say in this?" Emma pleaded.

"Because, Emma." Regina responded, beginning to lose any stability that was once holding her together. " _I_  created the potion.  _I_ gave it you."

"Why? Why would you do this?" Emma ran a frustrated hand through her hair, trying to keep any composure she had left.

"I thought," Regina inhaled deeply. "I thought that if I could invade your dreams, perform some threatening magic tricks, spook you, you would leave. I thought that if I had control over you in that world, I could coax you into leaving. And I," She couldn't look at her when she continued. "Would be Henry's only mother again."

Emma stepped back and out of Regina's personal space. "So this, all of this, was to get rid of me?"

"Yes," Regina turned around again, unable to look into Emma's face. She heard Emma push her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

"Kind of a desperate measure, don't you think?"

Regina was taken aback by Emma's ability to use humor in this moment. Against herself, Regina lightly chuckled. "It was a desperate time." She whipped away a tear that had fallen down her cheek.

"You could have kept going," Emma said. "You could have driven me out but you didn't."

Regina turned back around to face Emma; this time she felt a sense of softness float over her. Her features became almost painfully vulnerable. "I couldn't do it."

Emma nodded her head, biting her lower lip. "Doesn't that tell you something?"

Regina opened her lips to speak nothing came out.

"Doesn't it show you that you are a different person now?" Emma continued. "You are not this  _Evil Queen_  that you think still has a hold over you. You've changed, Regina."

Regina shook her head. "No, Emma, I haven't. Making that potion. That was the Evil Queen within me. I made you…" Regina looked up at the ceiling and folded her arms over her chest. "I made you develop feelings that I never wanted you to have."

"Regina," Emma argued. "That makes no sense. How could you have  _forced_ these feelings on me if  _you_  didn't even want them in the first place?" This was the first time Regina had actually considered this. She had just assumed that they potion had affected Emma in a way that manifested in romantic feelings. "I also had just as much power as you did."

Regina shot her gaze at Emma in that moment.

"Every night," Emma slowly began to understand. " _You_  came to  _my_ dreams. If anything,  _I_  had the upper hand."

"Emma," Regina tried to reason with her. "It was my curse. Magic is never what you think it is." She knew that Emma wouldn't understand the unpredictability of magic. At many points Regina didn't understand it herself.

"This didn't turn out the way you expected, I get that." Emma tried to reason. "But can you honestly tell yourself that you'd take it back if you could?"

"I never said that." Regina replied too quickly. Her voice was flat though, not defensive.

"Look, Regina, just listen." Emma looked determined to sell her point. "We met in those dreams but you didn't govern them. If anything, you let me have more power than I should have had. So, what are we even arguing about here?"

Regina released a breath she had been holding for a few moments now. She knew that there was no way to win whatever they were fighting over. What was it that they were fighting about? Didn't they both want the same things? At this point, Regina couldn't even explain to herself what she wanted. "Whatever happened, whatever came out of this, I still put you under that curse for malicious reasons."

Emma felt her heart sink at seeing this woman, who was usually so strong and stoic, practically crumbling before her. She knew that this had taken its toll on both of them equally.

"How do you still have magic?" Emma asked. The pain and memories set into Regina's eyes.

"I had one last piece. It was a ring." That was all she said. Regina already knew the irony in this. She had used Daniel's ring to rid her life of Emma but instead it made Emma someone that she couldn't live without. It was as if the release of magic from Daniel had given her the power to love again. Regina's stomach tensed at the cliché.

Emma sat on Regina's bed in an exhausted slump.

Thoughts raced through her head. She didn't feel it was fair of her to allow Regina to keep hurting like this. It wasn't what this woman deserved, no matter what other people may tell her. Nervously, she pressed her fingernails into the palm of her hand, wincing a little at the tiny pinches cascading through her skin.

"You said…" Emma began. She felt Regina's gaze bore into her. "That you could make it stop." She kept her eyes on the floor. "How would we do that?" She croaked out.

Regina had nearly forgotten about that. And she wondered then, why when they had kissed just minutes before, nothing had happened. Her heart sank in her ribcage. She should have expected,  _nothing_  ever happens the way she predicted them.

"You want it to stop now?" Regina asked, her voice soft and almost hurt. Seeing Emma there, obvious pain etched into her features, made her feel what she hadn't since the day she dropped to the ground in the stable and held Daniel's limp body against her own.

"It's the only way," Emma looked up at the woman standing over her. "To stop this from haunting you."

That word.  _Haunting_. It almost stung Regina to hear it coming out of Emma's lips.

"We already did it." Regina answered, her voice slightly wavering. The smallest of sideways smiles tugged at her lips. Emma felt the melancholy behind it. "The only thing that can break it is true love's kiss."

Emma's mouth gaped. Her eyebrows furrowed. She gazed up to Regina. "You, you don't love me, then?" It came out less as a question and more as a statement- one she didn't have the heart to accept. Her voice was hurt and Regina wanted to brush a hair behind Emma's ear and kiss her again. But she wouldn't allow herself to.

"No, Miss. Swan." Regina stilled. "It is you who doesn't love me."


	12. Something Better

"But…" Emma's voice trailed away and Regina watched her under hooded eyes. "I, we, you…"

"Sentences, dear." Regina said. She took a deep breath that expanded her ribcage before taking a seat next to Emma on the bed.

Emma watched her cautiously. The bed dipped underneath the new weight and Emma shifted just a few inches.

"You don't know anything for sure." Emma affirmed. She was very aware of Regina's proximity. The older woman didn't make a move to get closer, though. "We haven't even tested it."

"You're right, I suppose." Regina looked down at her hands that were now clasped together in her lap. Emma's hands suddenly closed over her own, causing Regina to meet Emma's sight.

"Then let's do it." Raw determination was highlighted in Emma's eyes and Regina couldn't find it in herself to fight her.

"You want to," Regina tried to clarify for herself. "Go back into the dream?"

Emma nodded and tightened her grip on Regina's hands. "If we fall asleep again, and we don't find each other, you will see. You'll understand." She leaned in closer to Regina. She couldn't help that her vision flickered to Regina's lips for just a second before returning to her eyes. "You'll see that what I'm saying is true."

Regina bit her own bottom lip subconsciously, eliciting the quietest of short gasps from Emma. She knew that Emma was right; that this was the only way to prove or disprove herself. Regina didn't feel a supernatural jolt in the atmosphere around her when her and Emma had kissed. Whenever a kiss had broken a curse, there was an obvious reaction when lips touched. The reaction Regina had felt was pure lust and pent up sexual frustration. There was something else too, but it was something that Regina was trying let go. She couldn't allow herself to love Emma, not if she didn't  _really_  love her back. But she was also afraid because at this point, it didn't feel as though she had a choice.

"Okay," Regina finally said. Emma's features softened under the cool moonlight.

Regina watched with wandering eyes as Emma stood up and walked to the head of her bed.

"What do you think you're doing?" Regina asked with a raised eyebrow, her voice sounding adorably panicked. She tried to hold it down though.

"Going to bed." Emma said matter-of-factly as she started unbuttoning her jeans.

Regina's eyes raked over Emma's body as she watched the blonde slide the jeans down her legs. Emma noticed her adventuring gaze and smirked at her. Regina averted her stare immediately and stood up herself.

"Just, stay on your side." Regina ordered with little tone of authority and pulled the covers back. She slipped into the comforting warmth of the bed and immediately turned on her side away from Emma.

"Will do," Emma huffed as she pulled her jacket off and let it land on the floor next to her jeans. She crawled under the covers as well. The combination of Regina laying next to her and the covers blanketing her made Emma feel incredibly safe. The fact that this was real and she was no longer fighting within herself was enough to make Emma put some things aside for the time being. She had burning questions but she needed to solve this before she could deal with anything else.

She felt Regina's body fall and rise with her breathing. It was so temping. She just wanted to pull the older woman into her arms. She knew Regina wasn't asleep yet. She couldn't be.

Regina tried to force her eyes closed. She just wanted this to be over. She couldn't handle seeing Emma in these dreams anymore. It was even harder to have her laying right next to her. Regina swore she could feel Emma's body move with every breath she took. Her body was aching to cocoon around Emma's.

Then, Regina felt something she wasn't expecting to. Emma's hand was on her hip and pressing it down for Regina to lay on her back. Surprisingly, Regina didn't refuse. She looked up at Emma with dumbfounded eyes. She felt her back hit the mattress as she was instantly calmed.

"Let me…" Emma moved her hand from Regina's hip to push a strand of hair behind her ear. She let her palm rest on Regina's temple. "… hold you- even if it's just for tonight. If we see each other in this dream, at least let me hold you now before you make me leave."

Regina's voice caught in her throat. No one had ever begged to just hold her in their arms. It was always a million times more complicated than that. She couldn't say what she so desperately needed to. She needed to show Emma that she wouldn't make Emma leave. It hurt too much to see her go.

Without protest, Regina shifted her body, ever so slightly, further underneath Emma's embrace. Emma moved her hand again, this time letting it trail around Regina's waist before pulling her in even closer.

She let her head fall to the pillow next to Regina's and turned her head to gaze at the woman next to her. Regina could feel Emma's light breath against her cheek.

 _For so long._  Emma thought to herself as she watched the mayor's eyes grow heavier.  _I've only wanted to not wake up alone. With her, I won't have to go asleep by myself either._

….

So carefully she had created this world. Regina figured it was her own mind's doing. Falling asleep in Emma's arms gave her the brilliance in light and imagination to craft a dream more utopian than was appropriate. This time it was all business. Emma wanted her answers and Regina  _needed_ them.

….

Emma knew that Regina had fallen asleep first. She watched it happen. She had traced soft lines down the other woman's jaw line until she too fell into a deep sleep.

….

There she stood, in an oasis. A roaring waterfall sprayed mist at her back though she didn't turn to face it. A thick rainforest rich with color and vibrancy sprouted around her but all Regina could think about was Emma, and if she would see her here. To Regina, this was her only way of truly knowing where she stood with the charmingly irritating blonde. Surprisingly, Regina had dressed herself in a long light blue dress that fell so far past her ankles that they dipped into the waterfall's runoff. Regina was standing on a large stone in the middle of the pond created under the cataract. She felt powerful there, but more than that, she felt isolated. Her own emotions had manifested themselves into her standing alone, in a lush paradise. She was so close to the beauty surrounding her but there was no way to it without going through the water.

….

Emma Swan opened her eyes to see that she was lying on a slippery sheet of black stone. Before her she could see a waterfall roaring. It acted as a thick and resilient sheet between the cave she was in behind it and whatever lied ahead. She pushed herself from the ground to a standing position. She watched, dazzled at the light flicked off of the rushing water. Blurred images of lush green life swirled in the water. Emma could only assume that there was a forest beyond the stream.

After standing up completely, Emma noticed how long her dress was. It ran at least two feet past her ankles. She stared at the waterfall and took a few tentative steps forwards, reaching out her hand.

Fingertips as light as feathers dipped into the rushing cascade, making Emma aware of the strength of the waterfall. She pulled back only slightly before touching it again with the same gentleness. With carefully concentration, she willed the waterfall to thin and become less roaring.

The change in sounds intrigued Regina, who was still facing away from the waterfall. With a raised eyebrow and deep anxiety, she turned herself on her stone to face the thinning cascade.

Emma met her two pointer fingers in a space on the waterfall above her head. With a simple motion, she willed the water to part for her much like an arch.

When Regina saw this, her whole body stilled into a harsh rigidness. She watched in agony as Emma's blonde locks came in to view behind the water. When the cascade began to split, Regina stilled as stoic as the stone she was standing on.

Emma stepped through arch she had created for herself. Before her rose another smooth stone, much like the one Regina was standing on. Without hesitation, Emma stepped onto it.

They were only about ten yards away from each other but to Regina it felt like miles. Seeing her here was all the proof she needed.

Emma looked up for the first time after passing through the waterfall. When her gaze landed on Regina, her own heart began throbbing.

Just as they always had, neither said anything. Regina watched with her chin up and her eyelids hooded as new stones emerged from the water, forming a bridge between her and Emma.

The slick rock was cold and wet against Emma's bare feet. Slowly she advanced, one step at a time, towards where Regina was standing.

When there was only one large stone between them, Emma stopped. Eyes trained on Regina's, she opened her mouth to say something. Regina wanted so much for Emma to say something, anything. But they were both speechless.

Then, Regina felt her eyes begin to sting and mist. Emma expression made it obvious that she too had noticed Regina's on coming tears. Seeing Regina cry was an alien concept to Emma. She knew the other woman was capable of intense and fearless emotion. But she also knew that Regina very rarely showed any of that to anyone.

Regina wanted to tell Emma to leave, to go and never come back. She couldn't let Emma see how much this tore her apart. She couldn't be so vulnerable. She knew what she looked like, broken and beyond repair. She never thought she'd let this conquer her.

But it was too late, she was already crying and before she knew it she felt Emma's arms around her once more. Emma held Regina close to her, allowing her head to fall between the crook where her neck met her shoulder. One of Emma's arms wrapped around Regina's waist while the other brought her hand up to stroke Regina's hair.

Regina inhaled the scent of Emma, just as sweet and comforting as it was when she went to sleep. Her hands gripped for the softly moistened material of Emma's dress.

In each individual ragged breath that Regina took, Emma could feel her pain. This pain though, the realization that Regina loved her  _this much_ , made Emma only fall harder.

"I'm sorry." Emma's voice softly intruded upon the muffled cries coming from Regina's throat. "I'm so sorry." She couldn't really understand why it was that she was apologizing. She knew her feelings for Regina were pure, but for some reason their kiss hadn't been enough to break whatever magic bound them in their sleep.

"No," Regina finally replied after she began to steady her breathing. "I was wrong to expect that this…" She pulled away until there was a small distance between them. "… that this was real and not just the results of my own wickedness."

Emma's eyebrows drew into a pained expression, trying to find another solution. There had to be another reason that the kiss hadn't worked.

But it was no use. Regina's own pain and Emma's baffledness lead them to be wordless.

"I need to go," Regina said suddenly, pulling out of Emma's embrace completely. "We need to wake up, and you need to leave my bed." It wasn't an order. The words sounded alarmingly soft coming out of Regina's lips. Emma's mouth opened agape, trying so hard to protest.

"I'm not done," That was all that came out of Emma's mouth, making Regina look up at her with a questioning expression. "I'm not done with this," Emma affirmed, reaching out for Regina again.

"Emma, we've proven to ourselves that this isn't-"

Emma's lips cut her off. Once again she felt Emma's smooth lips moving against her own but before she could allow herself to sink into it, a powerful gust of wind overwhelmed them. Emma and Regina broke apart when the water from the pond around them began blowing violently, splashing them. The trees around them swung back and forth with the wind.

The sound of harsh gusts surrounded them on all sides. It felt like their world was collapsing around them.

Regina's expression was one that Emma had never seen on the woman before. It was a mix of shock and disbelief.

The jungle around them rustled furiously and the birds living within emerged in overwhelming numbers. The waterfall grew stronger behind them and the water around them began to rise and fall with the wind current.

Overhead, the clouds began spinning into a marvelous swirl. Regina and Emma tore their gaze from each other to look to the sky. The clouds parted, displaying an impossibly bright light.

Emma's first reaction was to turn her head away. The light practically blinded her. The vortex overhead was sucking up everything in sight. Regina gripped Emma's arm so tight that Emma winced.

"Emma!" Regina screamed over the deafening noise around them.

Emma was stunned into silence as she began to feel herself being pulled up towards the sky.

The vortex overhead was stronger than either of the women could have predicted.

Regina started being pulled up as well. They were both suspended in the air, their dresses flapping violently against their bodies. They reached out for each other once more, meeting at their hands.

Emma clutched Regina's hand in her own for as long as she could before the vortex swallowed them whole.

…..

Regina woke up screaming. She shot up from the bed and out of Emma's sweaty embrace. During the dream they had somehow pulled together even closer.

Emma was up almost simultaneously with Regina. Again, Regina felt Emma's arms around her and Emma's hand on her back. It rubbed slow and meaningful circles.

Regina slumped against Emma. She could tell by the beating of Emma's chest against her back that Emma was just as rattled as she was.

Once she felt Emma's absence behind her, she fell flat on her back onto the bed. Emma had stood up and was now pacing the room.

"What the hell was that?!" Emma shouted. Regina closed her eyes and raised her arm to cover them. She had given up on keeping Henry asleep as this point.

"I don't know." Regina said in an emotionally exhausted tone. She wanted to reach out her hand again and find Emma's. She wanted to pull the blonde down on top of her and feel her against her again.

"I think we both know what it was, Regina." Emma was planted in front of Regina with her hands on her hips. Regina sat up on her elbows and looked at her. Regina bit her bottom lip and nodded. She did know.

"The curse." Regina said slowly, taking in the full image of Emma standing in front of her in nothing but her white tank top and underwear.

Emma crawled onto the bed and knelt in front of Regina. "The curse. We  _broke_ it, Regina. That's the only explanation for what just happened." She took Regina's hands in her own, palm to palm. Regina watched as Emma's fingers slowly interlaced with her own.

"We did it then," Regina answered. "The kiss must have only worked because we were within the dream." Regina's voice was careful and concise. Emma watched as her expression faded to one she couldn't quite make out. "We won't see each other there anymore." Regina stared at their hands, unable to look at Emma. She knew her eyes only showed nothing but a harsh and conflicted disappointment. She wanted this to be done and final but now- now she just wanted to return to a dream with Emma. When it was just the two of them in that small dingy out on an endless sea or riding in the Ferris wheel, it was easy. Regina felt that in this real world, nothing would ever be as simple.

Emma nodded. "But, the fact that we broke it," Emma prodded. "it proves that  _this_ is real. It's as real as any magic could be." She untangled one hand from Regina to cup it around the other woman's jaw line. She lifted Regina's eyes to hers. "We broke it."

Regina nodded very lightly. Her vision was focused on Emma. Again, they were so close. Mere inches separated them now and all Regina could think about was what Emma would feel like to touch. She wondered what the other woman would feel like under her dancing fingertips.

Without another thought, Regina pushed herself forward and caught Emma's lips in her own. For the first time, it was Regina that pulled Emma closer and deepened the kiss. Both of the woman's eyes shut immediately.

Regina pulled Emma down from her kneeling position to lay next to Regina. She rolled on top of Emma. For a moment, the mayor looked down at Emma. Their eyes locked and Emma could feel a raw anticipation building within her.

"I love you." The words felt foreign on Emma's lips. Both women stilled for a second after she said it.

Regina rested her weight on her hands and hovered over Emma. "I don't know how to love very well."

A calmed expression filled Emma's features as she looked up at Regina. The moonlight was still strong in the room and it highlighted every curve of Regina's face, especially the dip of her scar. Emma reached up her hand to Regina's face.

Lightly, she took the tip of her pointer finger and traced Regina's bottom lip, as she had done for her. Regina's lip was plump and soft under her touch. The corners of Emma's mouth tugged into a small smile.

Emma finger roamed farther while her eyes stayed trained on Regina's. Regina couldn't help but part her lips just barely under Emma's gentle strokes.

Once Emma reached Regina's scar, she stopped.

Regina gave her a questioning look before she felt Emma's finger begin to run over the creased skin.

"You're perfect." Emma sighed.

"I'm far from it, dear." Regina said in an unintentionally sultry voice that made Emma shiver just barely.

"We won't see each other in our dreams anymore." Emma said softly, still tracing the top of Regina's lip. "But maybe, there is something better for us somewhere else."

**The end.**


End file.
